Pokemon Hunters
by Lord Hellspawn
Summary: Two average trainers who travel the Kanto region with their not-so-average teacher. Their adventures escalate alongside their experiences and discoveries together. Chapters in this story can sometimes be quite long. Main characters are original characters.
1. Gym Battle at Cerulean City

Kurishimi woke up slowly and felt the stiffness in her back from sleeping on the padded bench the night before. She rolled onto her side subconsciously, but since the couch she had been sleeping on wasn't very wide she ended up falling onto the floor instead. She sat up, now fully awake, and rubbed her face just as the nurse came in.

"I heard something fall. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just found a better morning pick-me-up than coffee is all," Kurishimi replied groggily as she pulled herself back up to sit on the edge of the cushions. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

"That's good to hear. I don't see your friend that you came in with last night. Did he sleep in the bedroom area?"

Kurishimi thought for a moment, then remembered that her companion, an older man named Akuma, had left the Pokémon center last night soon after they'd arrived. He'd said he was going to do a job, but left before she had the chance to ask anything about it.

"No, he left the building soon after we arrived," she explained to the nurse. "He was probably out all night assuming nobody saw him come back in. We'll meet up again later."

"I'll keep it in mind if I see him then. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Actually I've got to be going. I'll get something on the road. Is everyone else ready to go?"

The nurse smiled as she spoke. "They've been waiting in the lobby for you for a few minutes actually. They're anxious to go."

"Well then I'd better not keep them waiting," Kurishimi said happily.

She stood up and began adjusting her clothes so they wouldn't look too obvious that she had slept in them. After straightening her knee-length blue skirt and righting her red jacket she walked out to the front entrance where she spotted five Pokémon waiting for her at the front doors. Like most people her age, Kurishimi was attempting the path of a Pokémon trainer. She had chosen the way of the warrior as Akuma called it, which was to battle some of the most powerful trainers around the world known as gym leaders and collect badge symbols as proof of her victory. She had already beaten two of these people: Brock of Pewter City, and her friend Erika from her hometown of Celadon City. Today she would exercise her skills again to claim a third.

As soon as she was noticed, her Pokémon quickly ran over to greet her. First in line was a small red fox with six tails called Vulpix; one of her earliest team members. After Vulpix followed Jigglypuff, a pink balloon creature with magical round eyes which seemed to bounce toward her instead of running. Third was a purple snake with a yellow collar pattern around its neck named Ekans that she had captured the day before. Behind Ekans was a large gray bird whose coat of feathers seemed to catch the light reflectively almost as if it was a robotic creature; a proud Skarmory. She greeted them cheerfully and after a moment with each she recalled them into their pokéballs. Then she looked toward the one remainder that had stayed waiting for her at the entrance. It was a blue cat-like creature with a white collar and a tail reminiscent of a mermaid; her closest companion, Vaporeon. Even before she had become a trainer the two of them had been together for years. In fact this Vaporeon was one of the rarest and most sought after Pokémon types in the world because this particular one could speak the human language.

As her trainer came closer Vaporeon addressed her by name, "Are you ready to go, Kurishimi?"

"As ready as I always am. I hope we can win again this time too."

"Considering how much you've improved over the past few weeks I'd say you might be ready for a lot of things, but don't be overconfident."

"I've heard that line too much from Akuma, Vaporeon. Don't worry about that being a problem."

Vaporeon gave a small smile, "Yes, I suppose you might have. Well let's be off then."

"Yes. We'll do our best this time too," Kurishimi said with a firm nod. "Wait, why were there only five of you waiting for me here?"

"Oh, that's because our sixth member was too big to come inside if you remember."

"Ah yes, silly me. I forgot. Well get in your pokéball now and we'll go!" Kurishimi opened Vaporeon's pokéball and the water Pokémon disappeared with a flash of light into the small container. She walked outside and as she appeared into the light she heard a deep roar. Kurishimi looked up and witnessed a towering pile of massive rocks stacked on top of each other end to end where a head shaped rock with a long horn rested at the very top. She waved at the ominous creature as the head bent down to let her climb on top.

"Good to see you too Onix," she said as she leaned against the horn for support. "You ready for another gym battle?"

The giant rock snake roared in approval and walked, or rather moved, down the unpaved street toward the city center where the leader lie in wait for the next challenger.

After coming to a part where the road was paved she dismounted her Onix and recalled it so it wouldn't tear up the pavement. She had come from Mt. Moon a day ago with Akuma after they had done training in the wilderness for two weeks. During their trip through the mountain interior though, a Bellossom, a grass type Pokémon that looked very much like a flower with a grass skirt, had poisoned her and Akuma when she'd tried catching a Clefairy in the tunnels. Akuma recovered quickly, but for her the poison had lethally spread and might've killed her if not for the appearance of a bizarre creature that she'd never seen before which instantly cured her. Akuma had confirmed it to be a Pokémon, but seemed disturbed at its appearance and was reluctant to share any further details. But that was how he usually acted anyway, and she hadn't expected him to tell her anything more than he did.

Actually it was rare for Akuma to give out information of any kind. During their training sessions he'd given her good lessons and tips, but no more than that. He was obviously an experienced combat veteran which was why she'd kept with him for such a long period of time, but there were many times when she'd wished he'd say more than he did if only to satisfy her curiosity. While she was taking the combatant's path and collecting badges she had no idea what Akuma's choices were. He was more than dangerous in battles, which was obvious, but she had never seen him in possession of any badges and he showed no interest in gym battles when the opportunity presented itself. To the best of her knowledge, the paths were battler, contester, breeder, researcher, and master, the last of which few were able to achieve. Akuma on the other hand, didn't seem to fit any of these categories other than the path of battler, but without gym battles it didn't seem like he had a part to play in the standard make up of things.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she found herself finally before the Pokémon gym of Cerulean City. Without hesitation she marched through the front doors and found herself standing before an indoor pool. There were floating walkways across the water on one side so that a path seemed laid out to take her to someone at the other end of the pool who she assumed was the gym's leader. She read the nearby statue and found that her final opponent's name was 'Misty: the water maiden' who specialized in water type Pokémon.

"Like that isn't obvious," she said to herself as she looked at the water lapping the edges of the pool. She removed her pokéball containing Onix and spoke to it sadly. "Sorry Onix, I don't think you'll be able to fight in here; not without putting yourself at a major risk anyway. I know how much you were looking forward to it too."

After she'd read over the names of other trainers who had previously conquered the gym this year, she reached into her pocket and withdrew a small palm sized computer called a pokédex. In addition to being her trainer's license, it also functioned as a Pokémon encyclopedia for trainers. She pressed a white button on the keypad and after some work she sent a signal to someone to trade out her Onix for another Pokémon more suited to a water area. She didn't know how it worked, but it was a great convenience for trainers everywhere. Ready for the battle, she stepped on the floating mat and walked along the path toward the end. On her way she heard someone call out to her. She looked to her right and saw someone swimming towards her at a rapid pace. When the figure caught up to her it pushed up its goggles and she found it to be a male swimmer.

"You can't go right through to the end without a warm up first," he said. "Before you fight Misty you should try battling me!"

Kurishimi sighed and pulled a pokéball from her belt locks. In gyms there were usually other trainers meant to filter out challengers so that only the strongest would fight the gym leaders and keep the leader's Pokémon rested up for the toughest battles. The trainer kicked back into the water a bit and released a red and white fish with a small horn on its head. Kurishimi recognized it as Goldeen; a basic water Pokémon that was easy for even inexperienced trainers to handle. She released Vulpix from its pokéball onto the floating mats as the Goldeen charged forward through the water to attack.

Akuma checked his notes again and confirmed that he'd found the address he had been looking for since last night. Located in the southwestern part of town, the house was a wreck and the windows were boarded up. The entire area around it was a mess and it was obvious that nobody was trying to maintain the house for beautification purposes. Still, in some ways he found it kind of homey.

Akuma pushed open the gate and was almost surprised that it moved so smoothly. He walked over the overgrown weeds and kicked away the blown in garbage that littered what was left of the lawn until he came to the front door. Instead of standing in front of it though, he stood to the side and leaned up against the house. He pulled out a blue pokéball with two red bumps on its surface and released a purple cloud of smoke with a black head and face in the center. This was Gastly: the gas Pokémon; a common ghost type Pokémon.

"Head in and see if there's anything I should know about," he said quietly. Gastly immediately disappeared into the house by moving through the walls. Moments later it reappeared and in an otherworldly voice it said, "Gas gastly."

Akuma sighed and recalled his Pokémon, then removed two more pokéballs from the strap across his chest. This time a red six-legged spider appeared from the flash of light along with a six foot tall monkey with flames coming from the back of its head and neck. Akuma pointed to one of the blocked windows and the fire monkey, whose name was Infernape, punched its fist through the window and made a hole big enough for his other Pokémon, Ariados, to crawl inside. The spider crept in silently while Infernape tore the remaining debris off so its trainer could climb inside before Akuma recalled it to its pokéball. He kept the pokéball in hand instead of replacing it on his chest straps as he climbed in the window following Ariados. Ariados was not recalled, but instead crawled onto the room ceiling to provide support in case it was needed.

The interior of the building was just as bad as the outside. Paint was peeling and there was a thick, visible layer of dust coating everything. Almost everything, that is. Leading down the hall and into one room was an obvious trail of footprints in the dust. Moving as quietly as he could manage over the worn floorboards, Akuma made his way down the hall and crouched next to the slightly open door so he could peer inside. He could see four familiar people within wearing black outfits and a letter 'R' insignia on the shirt fronts who were inspecting the contents of some boxes. He gently pushed open the door so he could hear the words of the people inside.

"…émon we stole from the house on the cape. Supposedly there were some rare ones in there, but the rarest one I think we found is Lanturn. From the information we got I had assumed there would have been some better ones."

"Think for a second, Kyle," he heard a second one say. "If he actually did have rare Pokémon they wouldn't be lying around waiting for us to come pick up would they?"

"Perhaps not," Kyle said, "but this is all we found and there should have been more we walked away with after our failure at the museum. I don't think Mandy will like what we've got to show for it."

"He's got a point," a third one said. "Even if he was to make his entire collection invisible she'll agree that we should've come out with more than what we have right now."

"That's easier to fix than you would think," the fourth one finally said. We're in a city where a gym leader is. There are going to be some trainers coming through here that could have strong enough Pokémon to be worth the trip."

"We won't be able to steal those kinds of Pokémon though," said the second person again. "If they're strong enough to defeat a gym leader then they're probably strong enough to defeat us as well."

"You should show a little bit more confidence, Niklos!" the third one shot back. "We just need to attack them after they've completed the challenge when their Pokémon are all weak and it'll be an easy catch. We won't need to do very much at all if we set up an ambush."

The fourth one was about to reply again when they heard a popping sound behind them. They turned around and saw Infernape appear in a flash of light. He quickly dispatched the closest three with rapid punches before they could call out their own Pokémon for defense, but the fourth one had enough time to release a brown tree shaped creature named Sudowoodo. Despite its tree-like appearance it was a rock Pokémon and difficult to damage with regular attacks. It swept itself toward Infernape with a faint attack which hit him hard, but Infernape could fight with all five limbs at once and was incomparable in terms of speed. It quickly dispatched Sudowoodo with a close combat attack. Before the Rocket could call out another Pokémon he joined the others on the floor after a mach punch from Infernape.

Akuma came through the door to congratulate his Pokémon before recalling him. He walked around the room and looked through the contents of the boxes that the Rockets had been inspecting. He found that all boxes contained pokéballs containing various Pokémon; probably stolen. Further investigation revealed that each pokéball contained the mark of a genius who lived a short ways away from Celadon named Bill who was responsible for creating the Pokémon PC storage system that was now used worldwide.

After checking each crate Akuma searched the rocket's Pokémon and found that each was carrying one of Bill's Pokémon as well. He took each one and put them in a pocket of his vest which had more than enough room for the four compact pokéballs. Akuma ordered Ariados to restrain the thieves while he made a phone call. The bug Pokémon created a thick spider web rope with the pincers on its mouth and wrapped the four inside cocoons. While it was doing this, Akuma called the police and gave them instructions on how to find the house and what he'd found. He took only a moment longer, then hung up, recalled Ariados, and left the house before the police could arrive.

Kurishimi had finally defeated all of the trainers and now only Misty herself was left. The only Pokémon she had used to win were Vulpix and Skarmory, but the gym leader was much tougher than any of her underlings would be. Feeling confident she approached the leader and said, "I've proven I'm better than the rest, now let's do this."

Misty smiled with satisfaction and agreed to do battle. "We'll use all six of our Pokémon to fight," she said stating the terms of battle. "If you can knock out two of my Pokémon you'll win the cascade badge."

"I'm sure I can do that," Kurishimi said in agreement.

With no more words to say, Misty threw out her first pokéball and it released a blue seahorse Pokémon called Seadra into the water. Kurishimi responded with Skarmory. The metal bird struck first with a drill peck attack that forced Seadra to dive underwater before it could hit. Skarmory was hovering over the water's surface waiting for its opponent to reappear when Seadra leapt out of the same place with a dive attack and knocked Skarmory back almost into the water. Before it could regain its balance Seadra fired an ice beam attack and knocked it out cold. Kurishimi recalled her Pokémon as she heard Misty declare, "Water Pokémon perform their best in the water. You've got to pick up the pace if you want that badge!"

Kurishimi carefully went over her options, Jigglypuff would be outclassed immediately by a Seadra and Ekans wasn't experienced enough to face an opponent of this level yet. Vulpix would have a hard time battling an underwater enemy, so… she sent out Vaporeon. As it appeared she caught a glimpse of Misty's face and recognized a sudden interest in the battle. As soon as it hit the water Vaporeon used the water absorb ability to become one with the water itself. Seadra dove under again, but instead of surfacing it was searching the water for signs of its opponent. It didn't have to wait long. Soon after it started looking a rainbow beam shot through the water and badly damaged Seadra. Before a second aurora beam could be fired, Misty recalled Seadra and released a Vaporeon of her own which in turn melted into the water. For the next few minutes it was an underwater game of invisible hide-and-seek as both trainer and Pokémon guessed at where the other was. After one aurora beam from Kurishimi's Vaporeon lanced through the water Misty ordered a quick attack from her own Pokémon. It sped through the water and cut through the very spot where Kurishimi's Vaporeon had just fired. It reappeared after being hit, and Misty retaliated with a vicious bite attack that left a bad wound on Vaporeon's side. Even though it was too hurt to continue the battle right now, it could return at a later time if it was really needed even though it might not last long. Kurishimi recalled her Pokémon then and tried to think of another good counter.

She had two plans actually, but when it came to which one she would use she was unsure. Finally she decided on her second choice and released the Pokémon she'd swapped out Onix for into the water. Immediately the water turned dark and murky before the Pokémon had even fully appeared. Vaporeon quickly swam away from the dark cloud and watched the glow of light reveal itself to be a Grimer, a Pokémon that was made entirely of highly toxic sludge and industrial waste. As it sank to the bottom of the pool the water surrounding it became poisoned from the sludge Pokémon's presence. Vaporeon sped in for another quick attack and connected perfectly, but as it sped away its movements slowed considerably and it retook its solid form. When it appeared, Grimer fired an ugly poisonous ball of waste through the water as a sludge bomb attack. The poison seeped through Vaporeon's skin and poisoned it immediately. Grimer sped after it as Vaporeon climbed out of the water onto the floating mats. Grimer quickly surfaced and finished it off with a normal sludge attack before it could be recalled, fainting Misty's first Pokémon.

As Kurishimi recalled Grimer Misty complemented her on the performance. "That was a good strategy using Grimer's physical makeup to attack Vaporeon without using any attacks yet."

"It was Grimer's idea actually," Kurishimi stated with a sense of pride for her Pokémon. "We had the same problem when we tried to capture it for ourselves."

"And you did a great job using that against us too; a brilliant strategy. But it seems like the home field is in need of maintenance now," Misty said as she motioned to the sludge infested pool of water.

That's another strategy I thought of after you mentioned that water Pokémon need to be in water to perform their best."

Misty laughed as she realized that she'd lost the home field advantage and her first Pokémon in the same strategic move. "You've certainly earned the right to the cascade badge now. Whoever taught you to think outside the box must be a very skilled opponent."

Kurishimi's thoughts flashed back to her numerous training sessions with Akuma. "Yeah, I had a really good teacher, but I'm not even close to his skill level. I won't even begin to compare to him for many more years now."

"That's something to drive you towards a goal then," Misty said as she saw the look in Kurishimi's eyes. "But, we're not done with our battle yet. You've still got one more victory to achieve."

"That's right. Whose turn is it, mine or yours?"

"Unfortunately you've cut down on my choices as to what Pokémon I'm able to use now that an underwater match is out of the question. And I was hoping to use my Seaking too. Well it seems like I've only got one more I can use effectively, so we'll have to make this a land battle."

"Sounds fine to me," Kurishimi put some distance between her and the red haired girl and released her Ekans to fight. It was the snake's first real trainer battle and she was hoping Ekans would do well. When Misty released her Pokémon though, Kurishimi was in shock as she saw a Pokémon that she'd never seen before. It resembled a blue squid, but it had a spiked shell on its back similar to a hermit crab. Not having the time to guess at what it was, she pointed the sensor lens on her pokédex at the creature and the small computer identified it as Omastar: the spiral Pokémon. She assumed it was a new discovery, but found it to be among the original 150 that were first classified. She scanned through the information hoping to learn as much as possible before fighting and discovered that it was actually a previously extinct Pokémon that could only be resurrected from a fossil. Since it was so difficult to obtain, there was very little information available and all she really learned was that it was a dual type rock and water.

"When my Pokémon train together Omastar is at the same power level as Gyarados," Misty said as Kurishimi reviewed the data. I usually save it as a last resort, but this time there isn't really much choice."

Kurishimi chewed her lip, a habit she had whenever she got nervous. After another second she ordered Ekans to attack. The purple snake dashed forward toward the extinct creature like a predator closing in on its prey and just as it was about to connect it stopped. This was a good move since Omastar shot a mass of mud at the place where Ekans had just been. After the attack had finished, Ekans fired a poison sting at Omastar's exposed body. Before it could hit though, Omastar shielded itself by withdrawing into the shell and escaped completely unscathed. Kurishimi thought it would reappear momentarily, but it started to roll toward Ekans instead. Ekans moved aside easily, but Omastar spun around and came back even faster the next time. Kurishimi recognized it as the rollout attack and yelled for Ekans to be careful. The next attack was also avoided, but just barely. The third attempt hit Ekans hard unfortunately, and just before the rollout hit it a fourth time Kurishimi recalled her Pokémon.

"Ekans needed some battle experience," she explained to Misty. "That last attack would have knocked out Ekans so I won't bring it back into battle again. You can count that one as a victory on your part."

Misty nodded understandingly and Kurishimi sent out Vulpix to do battle against the ancient Pokémon. Kurishimi commanded an ember attack followed by an intense flamethrower. The flying embers were endured for a moment, but eventually Omastar got annoyed and withdrew into its shell for another rollout attack. As it rolled toward Vulpix the flamethrower pushed against it and held it back; it even pushed Omastar away for a while. But as the rollout attack continued, Omastar rolled faster and faster until its power overcame the flamethrower attack and rolled through the flames to hit Vulpix hard. Vulpix got up quickly and Kurishimi switched her tactics to ensure damage by ordering an overheat attack. The temperature of the room grew to intense and nearly unbearable temperatures as the attack took its toll on Pokémon and trainers alike. Some people watching on the sidelines began to leave the room as the surrounding water began to boil. Eventually Omastar couldn't bear it anymore and came out from inside its shell to cool down. When it did, Kurishimi called back Vulpix and sent out Vaporeon again. Kurishimi quickly ordered an ice beam which Vaporeon was more than glad to do to cool things down even partially. The attack hit Omastar and the Pokémon briefly enjoyed the brief drop in temperature, but soon felt a nasty sting from such a sudden temperature drop and began trying to desperately avoid the deadly ice beam. The attack struck Omastar another time or two, and Kurishimi recalled Vaporeon again.

During this entire process Misty was baffled at what Kurishimi was trying to accomplish and saw the added effects of ice beam, but was confused again when Vaporeon was suddenly withdrawn. Now Kurishimi sent out her final Pokémon, Jigglypuff, to fight. Again Misty was confused at the other girl's strategy since normal type Pokémon like Jigglypuff had a disadvantage against rock types. Kurishimi ordered Jigglypuff to direct a double-edge attack on Omastar's shell which seemed to do surprising damage despite the hardened defense the shell had previously offered. It was then that Misty saw what Kurishimi's strategy had been.

First Vulpix heated Omastar's shell to a high level and brought it out so there was less mass inside the shell. Then Vaporeon used an ice beam attack to drop the shell's temperature to subzero levels and cause cracks to form in the otherwise impenetrable armor and lower its durability. Finally the high pressure impact from double-edge damaged the shell badly enough to almost completely lower the defenses it offered. Omastar was now as defenseless as a Pidgey with a broken wing.

Misty called for Omastar to fight back with an ancientpower attack which was a very difficult attack to avoid. But before Omastar could comply with its trainer's commands, Jigglypuff scored a successful pound attack on Omastar's weakened shell with its forearm and broke a large section of it into a shattered dent. Omastar was in critical condition, but not out yet. It retaliated with ancientpower and large rocks rose up from the water to barrage Jigglypuff. The balloon Pokémon struggled to stay in the fight, but it was forced to back away from Omastar, unable to deal the finishing blow. Eventually the attack stopped, but Jigglypuff was too far away from Omastar to successfully get closer without its opponent using another attack before it could get within range.

Misty had been panicking when Omastar was about to fall, but when she saw Omastar gain the advantageous position she felt confident that she had another chance. Omastar couldn't use rollout anymore, that was a given, but it was a water type as well as a rock type Pokémon, and water types were her specialty. She called out for Omastar to fire a hydropump which was not only a distance attack, but could also do enough damage to badly wound Jigglypuff, if not finish it off. Omastar fired a blast of water that sped toward Jigglypuff at an intense speed; too fast to avoid. But before it hit the balloon Pokémon Kurishimi ordered Jigglypuff to use its new attack. Jigglypuff gave an earth shattering scream that dissolved the water blast in midair and rattled the room. It was a rare attack known as hyper voice. Omastar was shaken and lost its balance. Before it could regain its stance, Jigglypuff had closed the distance and was preparing to attack again. It was too far to ensure another physical hit, so it screamed again and the blow knocked out Omastar.

Kurishimi had won the match.


	2. Skills of the Warrior

Jigglypuff stood next to the battered and broken Omastar as everyone stared in shock, trying to comprehend what had happened to one of the water maiden's most feared Pokémon. Even Misty and Kurishimi herself were staring in silence.

Suddenly clapping was heard from the remaining spectators and it built into a thunderous roar. Misty approached Kurishimi while clapping herself and proudly handed her the cascade badge.

"You've earned this badge ten times over with your incredible strategic solutions, challenger. Take it with pride." Kurishimi took the badge with a shaking hand still shocked at what she'd managed to pull off. "Please tell us your name. We will definitely add you to the list of trainers who've also won the cascade badge over the years."

"K-Kurishimi Akashi. Thank you very much for the match."

"I hope I can battle you again someday Kurishimi. I never knew I was so inexperienced. If your teacher is as good as you say he is I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Pokémon league champion from every region of the world."

"Well he's… probably the best I would say," Kurishimi smiled shyly. "I didn't know how good I was until just a moment ago even."

"What are your plans going to be now? Where are you headed next?"

"Well I'm going to meet up with my teacher and then we'll head south I think. I've heard that the Saffron gym is more than I can handle right now, so we might skip to the Vermilion City gym next."

"Well from what I've seen you've got the capability to battle in the Pokémon league right now. If it's not too much trouble could I meet your teacher before you leave Cerulean?"

"You can if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it. He's not a very… um… social person if you get my meaning."

"Sure, but I'd like to see him to at least complement on what he's done for you."

"I suppose he'd be fine with that. I'm meeting up with him at the Pokémon Center in two hours. Do you want to wait with me there?"

"Sure, I've got to get my Pokémon healed too obviously," she said with a glance at her fallen Omastar which she then recalled. "It's not like I can take anymore challengers right now with my gym in this condition either. I'm glad gyms have special maintenance for occasions like this or I'd be in real trouble."

"That's a given. Are you good to go right now?"

"Sure, let's go. I want to hear about the training sessions you've done too."

Akuma had done what needed to be done at the house. He had found his objective and carried it out perfectly. Perhaps he might even stand to gain more than he thought from the outcome as well. He just needed to play his cards right and there would be no trouble. Of course there were always unexpected problems cropping up that he didn't plan for, so he would need to think things through before he got to the end. Since he'd finished everything he could do in this city he was ready to leave. Actually he was ready earlier then he had expected even, which meant he'd have to wait for Akashi at the Pokémon center for a while. The prospect wasn't very appealing so he went the store to restock some supplies first and kill time. When he was done he left for the center to wait for her.

"He seems like a rather ruthless person," Misty said after hearing Kurishimi's explanations of the training she'd done.

"He is sometimes, but only because they get the best and fastest results."

"I guess so, but it's tough on both the trainers and their Pokémon isn't it?"

"Very tough. It's brought good results though; you're a witness to that."

Misty laughed a little at that. "Well that's a fact. I don't think I'd want to try those training tactics though. I'm not up to them and I don't think my Pokémon are either."

"That's what I thought too. But I think he trained us all to be ready for the training because after a while it didn't seem so hard."

"What did he do?"

"To be honest I don't know. I know that he definitely did _something_, but your guess is as good as mine on what he did even though I was there for it. Hey, I think I see him coming!"

"Where from?" Misty asked looking down each street.

"Up there," Kurishimi said pointing at the sky.

Misty looked up and saw an orange flying dragon bearing down on them from above. The dragon was descending quickly, but spread its wings just before reaching the ground and landed smoothly a couple yards away. A figure got off the back of the Pokémon, which was a Charizard, and recalled it into a normal pokéball. He was a young male in his early 20s perhaps, wearing dark jeans, a t-shirt, and a vest with multiple pockets. Across his waist was also a dark blue pouch, a berry bag probably containing herbal medicine and the like too. His pokéballs were strapped to his chest like gun ammo and his black hair was unkempt, but not wholly a mess either. The pokéballs across his chest were of various colors and there were only a couple with the standard red and white colors. Other than the fact that his eyes had a cruel cold glare that seemed to cut into you, he looked like he might have been a good guy. Misty couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu when she saw him too.

"Are you ready now?" he asked Kurishimi, completely ignoring the other girl.

"Yes, I got it. Before we leave though, Misty wanted to meet you since I told her you were the one who trained me."

Akuma looked at Misty like he was inspecting a piece of rock for gold. "You are Misty: the gym leader of Cerulean City, correct?"

"Yes, I'm honored to meet you Akuma. From what I've been told you're one of the best trainers alive."

"That's right. Why did you want to meet me?"

"Direct aren't you? That's good."

"It gets things done. Get to the point please."

"Sorry. I wanted to tell you I was very impressed with Kurishimi's performance earlier. I've never in my entire life seen someone with skills even mildly comparable to hers."

"I've seen better, but she's still above the majority of trainers in existence."

Kurishimi blushed slightly at the praise, but neither of the two noticed as Misty continued. "I can't argue with that. From what I saw today she was battling with the skill level of champions from the Pokémon League. Actually I wanted to give you this too. It's a recording of the battle we had." Misty handed Akuma a CD disk with a picture of the cascade badge imprinted on it.

"Wait!" Kurishimi cut in. "You didn't tell me you were planning something like that!"

"Well of course not," Misty said with a wink. "Otherwise you wouldn't have let me come with you!"

"I'll look it over," Akuma said as he took the disc. "It'll show me how she fights when I'm not around and what she needs to work on. Was there anything else?"

"That's it. I just wanted to say you did a wonderful job teaching her."

"That's how I do everything," Akuma replied without ever changing his expression. "There's no point in doing anything unless you intend to do it perfectly. I never perform beneath my abilities, nor do I plan to do anything that I may fail at due to a negative probability of success. Akashi, we're going north."

"Akashi? What's Akashi?" Misty asked as Akuma walked away.

"It's my last name," Kurishimi said in an annoyed tone. "He calls me by my last name because he says my first name is too long."

"Well that's a little strange, but it makes partial sense. You'd better go now; I don't think he's going to wait on you."

"Yeah, bye Misty," Kurishimi said as she ran after Akuma.

"Remember, I want to have a rematch when I get better!" Misty called after her. Kurishimi yelled something back, but she was too far away now for Misty to hear. Misty remembered what Kurishimi had said about Akuma not being a sociable person and agreed with that statement. He was not going to be invited to a party anytime soon, but his skill in battle must be incomparable if he was as strong as Kurishimi had implied. Once again Misty felt that feeling of déjà vu as she remembered his face. She felt like she knew him from somewhere, but the thought escaped her. In any case, it was pointless to stand around thinking about things like this. She needed to go check on Omastar. It had taken an unhealthy amount of damage in that last battle.

"Why are we going north?" Kurishimi asked Akuma when she'd caught up to him. "There's not much north of here other than a nice picnic spot."

"I have business up there with someone that I need to take care of. You can either come with me while I do it, or you can go hunting for more Pokémon. Either way suits me just fine."

"I think I'll-"

"I didn't ask for details, you can do what you want. I don't care. Your reasons are your own."

"Fine," Kurishimi said, feeling annoyed yet again. While Akuma was worth traveling with due to his ability to get results from training, his attitude was not always easy to put up with. Times were rare, if they ever existed, that one could find a topic that Akuma would be interested in talking about, never mind discussing. Kurishimi was grateful that she could at least hold a decent conversation with Vaporeon. She was a good relief for all the stress Akuma gave her each day.

"Just be somewhere where I can find you afterwards or meet me on the road to the cape when you're done," he continued. "After I finish my meeting we'll head back down to Cerulean and take the southern road to Saffron City. When we get there we'll have figured out where to go next."

"You don't have anything planned yet?"

"Nothing concrete or I would've said more, wouldn't I?"

"Would you have?"

"Probably not, good point. Either way, we'll have more plans after we get to Saffron."

"Okay. How long do you think you'll take?"

"Not too long assuming that nothing goes wrong. Here's where we split up," he said as they approached a fork in the road. "Head left and you'll find the Pokémon hunting grounds fairly easy. If you aren't back at this signpost by sundown assuming we haven't met up yet I'm leaving for Saffron without you."

"As always of course, but I won't be late."

"We'll see when it's time."

Akuma walked off and left Kurishimi to walk down the left road. She watched him go for a few minutes then walked down her chosen route. Other than the usual basic Pokémon like Pidgeys, a little brown bird Pokémon, and Rattatas, small purple rats, she didn't see many Pokémon that she was interested in. She saw a few bug types, but she knew that they needed lots of training before they could be a good inclusion to her team and since she didn't have the time to do any extra training beyond Ekans at the moment she decided against the idea. She was just about to give up her search and go follow Akuma down the road he'd chosen when she heard a zap from her left. Sitting with its back to her was a yellow Pokémon with brown pads on its shoulders. From the way its head was tilted, it appeared to be asleep. She didn't recognize the creature, so she removed her pokédex to get some information on it. As soon as the ding sounded when the dex retrieved the appropriate information though, the yellow creature vanished into the air with the same zapping sound that alerted her in the first place. Baffled, she read the information and saw that its designation was Abra: the Psi Pokémon. Reading further, she discovered that all they seemed to do in the wild was sleep and teleport. Confused about why this Pokémon would want to be captured, she decided not to try it, but then remembered another Pokémon that she had always regarded to be weak and useless as well.

In many streams and rivers the most popular fish for anglers to catch was a Pokémon named Magikarp. The only technique it had was splashing, though if trained well it could use some basic attacks too. But the most shocking part of Magikarp was that when it grew older it evolved into a huge blue water serpent called Gyarados that was feared by both trainers and sailors alike. Within the body of what seemed the most useless Pokémon was an incredible power, so maybe she could find a use for a Pokémon like Abra who seemed to be just as useless.

Kurishimi smiled a little and read further through her pokédex to pull out more information on how to capture a creature that knew how to teleport away from danger.

Akuma continued down the road ignoring the common Pokémon that lined the roads around him. Still he kept a single pokéball in his hand in case he found one worth catching. For the most part the dirt path was straightforward and nothing other than Pokémon seemed to be around, but some trainers were also on the sides of the road too; having battles to entertain themselves. Akuma watched a few as he continued on, but didn't change his pace since there were none around that he saw to be worth watching. After a time his attention waned however, and he decided to watch for any Pokémon battles where one would be released and knocked out before he could pass them. Out of those he saw, there were only three that succeeded, but he didn't stop to acknowledge their timed success. He slowed however, when he saw that one trainer lost four Pokémon in a row without having one victory against another trainer.

"How is it you've become so strong?" the loser, a young boy, was asking.

"We just practice whenever we get the chance," the older male said. "Battles rely on the skill of the trainer just as much as their Pokémon and vice versa. You need to grow when your Pokémon do or you'll not win any battles."

"So my Pokémon are just weak?"

"No, it's both you and your Pokémon. You need to work together more often."

"So you're still saying that they are. I can't win unless I find stronger Pokémon is what you're saying," the loser said as he sat down in the grass dejectedly.

"Don't degrade yourself into thinking that you or your Pokémon are garbage or you'll bring yourself even lower." The loser looked up and saw Akuma standing over him. "Give me one of your Pokémon and I'll show you."

"Wait, my Pokémon aren't up to fighting this person anymore. He's on an entirely different level than we are," the young boy said.

"All Pokémon have potential that they can rely on in a pinch," Akuma said with a certain voice. "Give me one of your Pokémon and I'll show you."

"My last one left is a male Nidoran though," the boy replied. "He's not a fighter; he's lost every battle he's fought even."

"Then he's perfect for this match. Give me his pokéball and you'll see," Akuma repeated.

The boy was unsure, but did as the older male said. Akuma threw the ball to release a purple rodent looking creature with big ears. "This Nidoran has average sized horns," he noted. "The poison it secretes should be enough to endure a few battles. Males also have sharper hearing than females. Learn about your Pokémon and you can use their uniqueness to gain the advantage in any battle. Most male Nidoran are trained to be attackers, so expect to use him for hitting fast and doing notable damage quickly."

"How do you know-?"

"Experience." Akuma then called to the opponent, "Will your first attacker be the Pidgeotto that you've been using?"

Beside his opponent the larger bird hovered in the air next to its trainer. "Yes, I expect that the battle will end just as fast as the others did, if not faster, so I'll let you make the first move."

"Bad choice," Akuma said more quietly. Then he addressed his loaner again. "What skill level is your Pokémon at?"

"I think it's at level 13. I'm not sure though."

"That will suffice. Nidoran, begin by focusing energy to increase your power, then immediately follow up with the use of a leer!"

Nidoran stared intently at Pidgeotto as it focused its power to increase its attack strength. When it was done it glared threateningly at the bird and scared it enough that it lost the battle focus it once had.

"Don't worry, Manny," the trainer said to his bird. "It's weaker than the other ones you'd beaten. Its own trainer said so himself. Just use a quick attack and you'll take it down fast like his others."

The Pidgeotto was reassured by the words of its trainer and dashed toward the smaller Pokémon with the speed of a bullet. The boy panicked knowing what the attack would do to his Pokémon and Nidoran seemed worried as well, but when Akuma snapped, "Hold your ground!" the little one stopped shaking and watched the incoming attack closely. Right before the impact Akuma gave a two word command, "Double kick." The poison type hopped vertically into the air and kicked out one stubby foot to hit Pidgeotto with not only the focused attack force, but also the added speed at which Pidgeotto was attacking with. The bird came to an immediate halt in the air, and Nidoran gave it another swift kick to send it crashing back at the feet of its trainer unconscious.

Both trainers were shocked to see the current victor taken down by one hit and the boy stared at his Pokémon in disbelief. Nidoran was about to relax at its victory but Akuma commanded it to stay focused or it would lose the next round for sure. Pidgeotto was recalled and this time the trainer sent out a bug with two shitake mushrooms growing out of its back, a Paras. Now on the aggressive side, the trainer ordered a stun spore to slow down Nidoran so the slower bug could attack at its leisure. Yellow spores flew through the air toward the smaller Pokémon who was still awaiting a command from Akuma. "An easy attack to avoid. Just blow them away Nidoran." Nidoran blew out a small breath from its mouth and the spores flew back towards Paras and paralyzed the bug on the spot.

"Hey, that's cheating!" the other trainer called out. "That's not an official attack!"

"No it isn't," Akuma said coolly. "But running in circles to confuse a Psyduck is a good tactic to winning even though it isn't an attack either. Trainer ingenuity plays a part in winning too. But if you want to get technical we could call that move a gust or whirlwind attack just as a formality."

The other trainer got mad and recalled Paras, who couldn't fight anymore from paralysis, and this time sent out a more formidable combatant. The younger boy cringed as a brown monkey with a pig nose and long limbs appeared looking very angry. "Is that a Primeape?" he asked.

"No, it's a Mankey. Primeape evolves from Mankey though, so you were in the right category at least," Akuma said. His attacker was faster than even Pidgeotto had been, but it was a nasty Pokémon to fight against as well. Mankeys were infamous for their tempers, so he'd have to think quickly to win this match.

Not waiting for a command from its trainer, Mankey ran furiously toward Nidoran with its fists scratching the air in front of it in anticipation and anger. Akuma thought quickly, but since he was inexperienced with Nidoran of any kind he was hard pressed to think up an attack before Mankey got within range. At the last moment he came up with a reliable move Nidorans used frequently. In fact he thought it was pathetic that he hadn't thought of it before. "Nidoran! Use a horn attack!"

Nidoran lunged forward with the horn on its head fully extended to critically hurt Mankey as they both connected hard. Mankey fell back as did Nidoran, but both got back up as quickly as they fell. During the exchange Akuma had watched the Mankey closely for anything he could exploit, and he found only one thing for sure. "Nidoran, when Mankey attacks again, hop back a pace and run around to its right, then deliver a poison sting in conjunction with your horn attack."

Naturally the other trainer heard the plan and ordered Mankey to counter by anticipating the other Pokémon's moves. The younger trainer looked up at Akuma worried that he couldn't come up with a strategy that the other trainer couldn't hear, but saw Akuma focused on the battle without any more worry than he'd had before.

As Mankey charged again Nidoran apparently had the same thought its trainer had, but did as Akuma instructed. It hopped backward as Mankey clawed at the spot where Nidoran had been and lost its balance as the scratch attack passed through midair. Both trainers were surprised that Mankey didn't adjust its attack according to the instructions Akuma had given to Nidoran, but Akuma smiled confidently and watched as Nidoran continued the plan, circled around while its opponent was off balance, and rammed his horn with pinpoint accuracy into the center of Mankey's back. The pig monkey fainted instantly as poison escaped from Nidoran's horn upon impact and quickly flowed through its blood. Stupefied, the older trainer quickly recalled Mankey and prepared to grab another pokéball, but Akuma held up a hand to stop him.

"That's enough. Nidoran can't go on anymore." It was true; Nidoran who was panting from the continuous battling didn't look like it could fight at all any more. "While the standard prize for winning a battle is a portion of the other trainer's money in addition to bragging rights, I'd suggest that both of you consider the prize of this battle to be a learning experience. You," he addressed the younger trainer while handing back Nidoran's pokéball after recalling it, "have learned that all Pokémon, no matter their experience, have potential. You only need to learn how to draw it out. And you," he addressed the other trainer, "have learned that under any circumstances you must never at any risk underestimate your opponent's battling skills or act solely on impulse. A trainer may actually use weaker Pokémon to lower your guard in order to take you by surprise."

"But Mankey could have won if it had done what I asked it to," the second trainer protested.

"Yes, but you obviously haven't earned your Pokémon's respect and their acknowledgement as a capable trainer. If you don't have that you might as well be a novice. I saw that Mankey was focused too intently on its opponent to listen to orders from either of us the moment it was released. You also made the mistake of using a Pokémon that you couldn't control. You acted out of impulse, allowing your ego and frustration to decide your actions for you which any opponent will be quick to exploit. In an important battle this foolish decision making could ruin your reputation and respect from your peers as well as the battle. In some situations it may even cost you your life. Your Pokémon rely on you just as much as you rely on them. You can never ever act without thinking unless you decide to intentionally lose the battle."

The second trainer thought quietly to himself for a moment before walking away without another word. The first had been staring at Akuma the entire time. "Are you… a Pokémon Master?" he asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Not officially, no," Akuma replied with indifference. "I'm a master in regards to certain aspects involving Pokémon, but I am not a Pokémon League champion, nor do I want to be."

"Those were a lot of big words, sir. Could you simplify it a bit?"

"Basically I'm a master in certain areas, but I'm not a master where the public is concerned."

"So cool…. Could you teach me more about how to battle? Maybe about how I can raise my Pokémon or even myself to be stronger?"

Akuma winced at the thought. "I already have a tag-along. I don't want another one."

"Please sir? If you aren't a master trainer I can't defeat a real champion without beating you first."

"… defeating me?"

"Yes! I'm going to be a Pokémon League champion and I can't do that if I don't know how to survive against you or come up with strategies like you just did, much less if the trainers competing in the League are nearly masters themselves."

Akuma looked hard at the young boy and considered how capable he might be. Unlike Kurishimi who wanted to work hard and try her best for victory's sake, this one wanted to settle for nothing less than the very best. Of course there was the downside of having to endure another person's company, but the thought of someone like this kid training under him with the motivation to surpass him was something he hadn't thought of happening. Akuma wasn't on an adventure to conquer the Pokémon league so most trainers wouldn't pay him any mind. Gym badges were what got the attention of other trainers. If you hadn't beaten a gym, you were no better than a day old trainer in the public's eyes. Kurishimi recognized his talent, but she had no intention, if any, to measure up to him that he knew of. The thought of a 'nobody' trainer like himself having a rival, even a self claimed rival, was an interesting thought.

"Please?" The boy repeated, breaking him out of his thoughts. "There's no one else I know of that could begin to compare to your level."

Akuma saw a pleading desperation in his eyes now. Or was it raw desperation? Maybe it was….

"Alright, listen," he began, "starting tomorrow you have exactly three weeks to show me that you're worth my time to teach. I won't train you if you aren't showing any progress. At the end of those three weeks you will show me everything that you've learned and surprise me with things that you've discovered yourself. If you fail to impress me by any margin you're gone. No more requests or words. Am I clear on this fact?"

The boy was obviously ecstatic, and unsuccessfully tried to hide it with confidence. "I won't do anything less than the best for you, teacher!"

"Don't give me any titles kid. Just call me whatever you want."

"Well look at you giving me a title! If I was still a kid I wouldn't have any Pokémon with me, would I?"

"A child in terms of maturity at least it seems. Only a kid would be annoyed at such a comment. And if you think that someone's underestimating you then use that knowledge to your advantage by letting them think that you are weaker than you appear. That goes for your Pokémon too."

"Okay, I'll do that. Do you want to see my Pokémon? I think you should get acquainted." The boy reached down to pull a pokéball from his belt strap.

"That's something else you should know," Akuma grabbed his arm to stop him. "If you plan to successfully beat someone then you must never allow them to see your Pokémon in advance or they'll start thinking about what Pokémon they should plan to use. Catch your opponents off guard and you can attack before they have a chance to even think about countering."

"Oh, I get it. So Pokémon battles are kind of like judo? You have to use your opponent's knowledge and skills or lack of it against them."

"Not in every case, but you're getting the idea. I'm late for my appointment. I'll teach you more on the way." Akuma turned and walked off toward the cape not watching to see if the boy was following. Of course he knew that he wouldn't have to either.

Beams of ice, spraying water, and blasts of fire filled the plains of the northern route above Cerulean City as Kurishimi chased down every Abra she could find. Not long after one teleported away another Abra would appear not too far from where the other had vanished. Whether it was luck she didn't know, but Kurishimi found that she hadn't rested since she decided to start trying to catch one. Her Vaporeon and Vulpix stayed out of their pokéballs to help her, but so far she hadn't even scored a direct hit on one yet. Before an attack could hit, the Abra would teleport away somewhere else and leave her behind to catch her breath for a few seconds before another one appeared. Eventually she'd taken to riding on Skarmory to chase down the Abras faster. Even though she was able to move faster though, she wasn't getting any closer. After a few more unsuccessful attempts she called for a rest stop and let her Pokémon catch their breath as well.

"This is just a shot in the dark here Kurishimi," Vaporeon spoke up when she could breathe again, "but I think you need a new tactic. We're going to run our attacks dry at this rate."

"I've thought of that too," Kurishimi replied as she sat down with Skarmory. "I don't think we'd have more chances any other way though."

"Could Jigglypuff put it to sleep with its singing?"

"I thought of that a little after we started, but since Abra sleeps for most of the day I decided that it would stupid to try putting a sleeping Pokémon to sleep."

"I guess so, but we haven't tried much else either."

"Also Abras teleport away faster than either of you can attack. I don't see Jigglypuff having much success in that area either since its song needs time to take effect."

"It isn't an attack though so I don't think the Abra would sense any danger, but since it's already asleep there wouldn't be a point after all. So after all's been said and done, why are we still chasing the Abras like they can be caught?"

"Well I've been noticing a curious pattern in the way the Abras have been appearing."

"You mean how they reappear in places close to where we are?"

"Yeah, that too, but there has also been a barely noticeable way in _how_ they reappear too."

"You mean like it's been coordinated?"

"Something like that, yes. For instance…" Kurishimi threw a pokéball straight forward and slightly to the left and an Abra reappeared less than a quarter inch from the pokeball's flight path. The red and white sphere hit home and the Abra was sucked inside instantly. The ball dropped to the ground and shook while the Abra fought the containment features of the device.

Vaporeon watched in surprise at what happened and looked back at her trainer for an explanation, but Kurishimi stopped her. "Get ready Vaporeon; you too Vulpix. I want a combined attack at the precise moment Abra escapes."

The ball started to shake harder and soon burst open to release the Abra back into the open. When it appeared, Vaporeon and Vulpix attacked with a water gun and ember attack that knocked the Abra down before it could begin to teleport. Before it hit the ground Kurishimi already had another pokéball in the air and the process was repeated, but this time the ball stopped its shaking and lay silent after one second indicating that the attempt was a successful capture. Kurishimi picked up the pokéball in victory and started to explain her observations to Vaporeon.

"After I started losing counts of how many failed attempts we'd had, I noticed that Abra reappeared every 48 seconds after disappearing. I would have disregarded it as a coincidence, but it happened too often to be one. This wasn't enough to catch it, so I looked to see if there were any other similarities between them. Every time Abra reappeared it was based off of a degrees thing like a circle. That is, it reappeared from a certain angle centered around something in particular."

"Wait a moment; are you about to tell me that the Abras were using us to decide where to teleport to next?"

"That's correct," Kurishimi smiled. "The Abra reappeared based off of angles relative to our position. It wasn't anything simple either, which is why I hadn't caught it until now. I've been trying to find out how it's been choosing where to come back from and I just found the formula out. It's incredibly difficult to explain in wording and if I drew out a picture it wouldn't help all that much either. I was riding on Skarmory so I could get a better sense of direction and think clearer. I didn't have any real proof yet though, so I took a guess and got it right."

"Okay, now just one more thing bothers me. Why have you been talking like there's only been one Abra we've been chasing after?"

"You haven't noticed? No more Abras have shown up after this one did," Kurishimi said with a smile. She was right too, Vaporeon noticed. After they'd made the capture no more Abras had teleported anywhere near them. "I figured that the Abra I'd originally found was playing with us. How else could a bunch of Abras coordinate mass teleports so precisely?"

"Excellent work, Kurishimi," Vaporeon congratulated. "I'm very impressed."

"Thanks, me too actually. But we've taken up a lot of time here already. We should head back to the crossroads and wait for Akuma. We came a long way out during our chase, and it'll take us a good deal of time to get back now."

"That's true. Let's get going then."


	3. Meetings

As the two walked on, Akuma used the trainer battles on the sides of the road to point out common flaws and useful techniques that could be used during the average battle. Some trainers were ignorant of the surrounding area before releasing their Pokémon and were immediately put at a disadvantage. Others relied on their Pokémon's special abilities to play a big part in the battles. One group even let their Pokémon battle without giving commands to see how well they had trained. Akuma also requested that the kid figure out who would win battles within ten seconds after the battle began. This was very difficult to do, and it depended on pure chance really, but he wanted to see how fast the kid was learning.

Before long they came within view of the ocean. No more trainers dotted the area, but there was a Pokémon or two down by the shore and seagull Pokémon, called Wingull, could be seen out across the horizon too. Akuma and the boy were higher up on a cliff face and couldn't make it down to the shore unless they wanted to be. Instead they walked along the edge toward a larger than average house to the east.

When they come closer they saw that the house was decorated with pictures of Pokémon both rare and unseen etched into the framework. Akuma could pick out some extinct ones too, but he wondered how many the boy could recognize, if any.

"Tell me," he asked, "how many Pokémon do you recognize in this artwork?"

"Just a couple," the kid said as he studied the pictures carefully. I can figure out Mew, Porygon, and some Eevee evolutions. I think I've seen a few others too, but I don't know their names."

"Which ones do you not know the names of?"

"This one in particular," the boy said as he pointed to a streamlined Pokémon with two fins on its back end. It was almost shaped like an elongated bullet. "I saw this one pass through my front yard in Cerulean a year ago."

"I recognize it too, but I don't know its name. I'll get some help from somebody after we're done here. She'll be able to help us find out its name I think. When we go inside don't freak out too much when you see who we're visiting. I think he's tired of all the fawning."

"Who is it?"

"His name is Bill. He's an enthusiastic Pokémon collector and loves new Pokémon discoveries."

"I don't think I've heard of him before."

"You will soon then. Just watch your excitement when you make that discovery." Akuma opened the doors and walked into the large hall within. He saw a man hunched over a computer so focused that he didn't even hear them come in. Akuma made sure his footsteps could be heard while he walked towards the desk so the other man wouldn't be startled by a sudden appearance. He looked up after they were more than halfway across the room and seemed to be expecting them since he didn't panic.

"Are you the one who found the thieves?" he asked when they were in reasonable hearing distance.

"Yes, all your Pokémon were accounted for except for four that the Rockets had taken. They weren't among the ones that they had already stored."

"That's disappointing," Bill said in a sorrowful voice. "I was hoping that all of them would be recovered."

"Fortunately for you, they were," Akuma said as he pulled out the pokéballs he had lifted from the rocket's group. "I found them separately from the others, but still intact. The release device on one of the pokéballs is broken though. You should get it fixed soon. Since they weren't with the others I came to deliver them myself."

"Thank you very much," Bill said as he accepted the pokéballs from Akuma's hand. "Yes, it seems like Flareon's pokéball was damaged somewhere. I'll have it fixed soon. Do you want payment now, or should I contact your employer?"

"Contact him if you would please. He takes care of the business deals; I'm just the handyman."

"Lavender, right?"

"Correct. Is there anything else you want to settle before we go? I'm pressed for time."

"Would you let me leave a Pokémon in your care? I've tried to balance my work and my Pokémon's needs, but it's a chore sometimes to finish everything at once. When I owe a competent and trustworthy trainer a favor I usually offer one as thanks. I'd like to give one to you so it can get more attention if you're willing."

"Only if you give it to him," Akuma said with a motion to the boy. "I have enough Pokémon to mange right now as it is. I need to choose my acquisitions carefully and earn them myself."

"Okay then, I'll be leaving one of my Pokémon with you it seems," Bill said with a smile at the young boy. "Are you his business partner?"

"No, I'm a regular trainer. I'm going to be his student for the next few weeks and I'll beat him someday because I'm going to be the best!"

"Is that so? Well then I'd be glad if one of my Pokémon was able to defeat him! It would be something to be proud of as a collector. Come with me, I'll show you which ones are available."

"I'll wait by the door," Akuma said. "My schedule doesn't allow for much time so I need to leave quickly."

"We'll be back in a moment," Bill reassured him. "I'll help him choose a suitable partner."

When they went into the next room the boy quickly asked Bill some questions. "What did you mean by business with him? Does he have a job that requires him to travel?"

"You don't know what he does?" Bill asked. The boy shook his head. "In that case I would recommend you don't ask him about it. It's not a position I think he wants many people to know about."

When they came into the next room the boy saw a vast assortment of Pokémon both rare and beautiful. There were Pokémon ranging from small green flowers with roses on each hand to seven foot tall brown giants. There were even Pokémon that looked like clay dolls sitting as decoration and a six foot rock monster in the middle of the room. The boy was overwhelmed by the numerous species that spread out before him and was suddenly struck with the realization that he would be allowed to take one of these magnificent creatures with him.

"Well?" Bill asked, "Which one would you like to have as your new partner?"

Kurishimi had arrived at the intersection an hour ago, but Akuma hadn't shown up yet. She had humored a passing trainer with a short battle that she quickly won, but after a while she got bored again and started looking up information for Abra in her pokédex. As it turned out, she was right about Abra not being a good combatant. It's only natural ability was to teleport away from battles and if it wanted to learn any other moves it would have to be born from special parents or have a trainer use a technical machine, or TM, to teach it how to use new attacks. Even then its potential was still limited. She thought about looking for evolutionary information, but she had quickly grown bored of the limited data. Instead she released Grimer and Jigglypuff from their pokéballs and started battling herself to train her Pokémon.

"Now that you have a new Pokémon partner," Akuma was telling the boy after they had left the house and were heading back toward the intersection, "you need to learn how to take care of it and raise it correctly or it will grow up like that Mankey your Nidoran fought earlier. It will be even harder because it was used to Bill's treatments and won't adjust well to yours at first. You need to learn as much about it as possible, so we'll go over its attacks, abilities, and quirks while we go. Before that though, I need to know what Pokémon you chose."

"Wait a second! You told me just a little while ago that I shouldn't show you my Pokémon team if I intended to beat you. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't ask, but this Pokémon was not caught and raised up until this point by you so we need to work quickly to get you two adjusted to each other. Now what Pokémon did you receive?"

"It's a short electric type with a power socket on its head. Bill told me it was a baby Elekid; only a few months old."

"In that case training may be easier than I thought. But I suppose it could also be harder too now that I think about it. Do you have any experience with electric Pokémon?"

"I got electrocuted by a Pikachu once. Does that count?"

"To a point. Elekid's electrical power is far less than a Pikachu's so the result should feel less painful if you should be electrocuted."

"It felt like my eyes would melt out of my skull. That's not all too reassuring," the boy said with a pained look on his face.

"Good thing you remember too. It'll make Elekid's seem less painful. Now then, on to business. Elekid has two basic attacks at its disposal: quick attack and leer. If those are the only two it still has I would recommend striking with leer first then following up with a quick attack, but if the opponent is faster than you are it might be better to strike with quick attack right from the get go and aim for a weak point on the opponent or get to a better spot to counter attack and then use leer. This is only if it has two attacks though. If it was born a few months ago it should have access to a thundershock, the most basic electric attack there is."

Akuma continued his explanations of Elekid and basic battle strategies in standard combat for a good part of the trip. After he covered what few ideas he could think of he began explaining proper care and treatment for baby Pokémon, and of course he covered Elekid care in greater detail.

As they neared the latter half of the trip back Akuma noticed the sun had begun to set and he remembered what he'd said about the meeting afterwards.

"We'll have to cut our lesson short here. We've wasted too much time and we'll need to run to the crossroads that lead back to Cerulean quickly. There's someone waiting there and I can't be late. We'll run as fast as we can." So saying, he broke out into a high speed sprint with the boy following behind him. Two minutes from the crossroads a group of three people walked into the middle of the path. He called out for them to get out of the way, but they stood as if they were blocking his path intentionally. The sun hadn't touched the horizon yet, so he slowed to a stop a short ways from the group and instinctively raised one hand to one of the pokéballs resting on his chest.

"What do you want?" he asked the group.

"You humiliated me a while ago," the figure in the middle said. "You taught a good lesson, but you must understand that I have to take back some of my honor as a trainer."

"You're spouting poetic nonsense," Akuma countered. "And you'll have to remind me who you are because with the sun in that position all I can see is your silhouettes against the background. But at least I can give you points for dramatic effect."

"I'm the one that you beat with that kid's Nidoran," the person said again. "All I want is to beat just one of your Pokémon with mine and I'll let you go."

"And what about the kid; you aren't holding anything against him?"

"No, but if I did, I don't know where he'd be to fight him either."

Akuma looked behind him and saw the kid far behind running to catch up. If the others didn't know that the boy was behind him he would've been easy to miss. Akuma released Charizard from its pokéball. "There's a kid about 12 years old on the road behind me running this way. Go get him and bring him back to me," he ordered. Charizard gave a questioning growl. "I don't know his name. He's wearing yellow shorts and is running this way. You can see him from here, go get him." Charizard nodded and flew down the road to escort the kid.

"That was an impressive Charizard," the other person, now his opponent, said. "What will you do now though? You can't have enough power in your other Pokémon to take on a whole team of four trainers."

"Don't the Pokémon league rules state that only one trainer and their Pokémon are to battle at a time?" Akuma asked suspiciously.

"Call this 'trainer ingenuity' if you want," his opponent stated with the words Akuma had told him just recently. "You're obviously a very capable trainer, so this a tactic that gives me the best chance to win even if it does twist the rules like you did against my Paras' stun spores. You'll only get one Pokémon to battle with. We'll fight you with everything we've got."

"Now that's not a fair battle," Akuma said as he pulled a pokéball not from his chest straps, but from inside an inner pocket within his vest; a seventh pokéball. The color was a dark red on both halves decorated with black trim and while the shape was still spherical in design chunks of the ball seemed to have been intentionally cut away. "How much challenge could there be in only four trainers?" He opened the pokéball and a massive flash of rainbow light erupted before the battlefield as the other four trainers emptied a total of 18 Pokémon to battle with.

The boy kept running up the road after Akuma. His new teacher normally moved so slow and methodically it was almost Slakoth-like. He had no idea he was tutoring under someone who was also so… athletic. He'd really need to train himself as well as his Pokémon to keep up with his master; both metaphorically and physically. As he ran he heard a call that reminded him of something he'd heard only from fairytale legends. He slowed as he looked up to see a red dragon flying down the path towards him. Panicking, he turned around and ran back the other direction, almost stumbling over his feet as he did so. He was much too slow of course and the dragon passed by him with a roar that could have come from the wind as much as the dragon itself judging by how fast it was moving. The blast of air knocked him down to the ground and he thought he was safe until the dragon circled around and swiftly came bearing down on top of him. The boy quickly crawled backwards in a futile attempt to escape as the dragon landed right in front of him. Again he scrambled to escape but the dragon closed in on him with only a single step. This time it grabbed him up and started flying down the road in the direction it had come from. Then he realized that it might have been sent from Akuma to fetch him since he'd been falling behind.

They did arrive at Akuma's location just as he recalled a Pokémon that he'd been battling with. The boy didn't see what it was or any details other than the usual beam of light when it was recalled. Then he noticed the multiple Pokémon sprawled across the equally ruined area. Whatever Pokémon Akuma had used, it was clearly a devastating opponent. Now more than ever, he wondered if he stood a chance to become the best if this was less than what the best really was.

Akuma did _not_ like using that Pokémon; given the circumstances and his lack of time though he'd had no choice. Whenever he even revealed that Pokémon's existence he cringed. He could have easily won with one other Pokémon, but he was too rushed to care. As the last Pokémon began to collapse, Akuma recalled the dangerous creature he'd called upon. Immediately afterwards he heard the sound of Charizard approaching from behind him. Akuma stuffed the pokéball back into his inner pocket quickly and turned to recall Charizard as well.

As the dragon vanished the boy asked, "What happened here?"

"I was ambushed because your opponent from before felt like he was insulted. There's no time for explanations, run ahead of me to the crossroads." The boy obediently ran ahead while Akuma walked over to his attacker who was still looking at his fallen Pokémon with an empty stare. "Let me point something out to you that you'll find very interesting," Akuma said as the roughly grabbed the other person by the collar and gave him a single hard shake. "If you _ever_ pull a stunt like this again, whether I'm your opponent or not, the Pokémon league will find you and take away your license and you won't be able to do a thing about it. Raising Pokémon is a privilege, and you've pushed your luck too far. When your license gets taken from you because of something like this it will be illegal for you to even touch a pokéball for the rest of your life. I will forget what happened here if you start thinking for yourself from now on and never speak to anyone about my existence or that of my Pokémon. Will this be enough to wisen you up, or should I report you when I get back to Cerulean?"

"No," the other trainer said with obvious fear in his voice. "But who are you? What kind of person can be that strong?"

Akuma let go and the trainer dropped to the ground. "Someone you should forget about if you value your future. I'm best left forgotten, but remember what I said or you will regret everything you've seen today until you die."

Akuma left the trainer to his shock and potential grief, knowing that some Pokémon in the group had not survived the assault and ran after the boy. He had less than one minute left until the deadline and two minutes before he could reach that point.


	4. Coming Together

Kurishimi recalled her Pokémon when self training had finished and watched the sun begin to set. If Akuma didn't show up shortly it would be the first time he was late since… ever! Kurishimi bit her lip impatiently and looked up the road Akuma would be coming from when she spotted a younger boy running towards her. Welcoming a brief distraction she called him out which probably wasn't necessary, but she wanted to be sure to get his attention anyway.

"What's the rush?"

"I'm late!" the boy replied nearly out of breath. "My teacher sent me here to wait for him and said there would be someone here he was supposed to meet up with."

Kurishimi looked around and didn't see anyone else in the area. "I'm the only one that's been here for a while though. Maybe that person hasn't arrived yet?"

"I wouldn't know since I haven't met them before. My teacher just said that he had to be back here by sundown or he'd be late."

That sounded like Akuma, Kurishimi thought, but he wasn't the type to take on a student. "Where's your teacher now?"

"He was in a big battle a minute ago. I wasn't running as fast as he was so he was way out ahead of me. When I wasn't catching up very fast he sent a big Pokémon to come pick me up and bring me to him. When I got there, there were a bunch of unconscious Pokémon around him and he stayed behind to talk to one of the trainers that attacked him."

Now it really sounded like Akuma. "Wait a moment, there was more than one trainer you said?"

"Yes, there were three I think. I only saw three anyway. I think they jumped him and tried to fight him, but he beat all of them with just one Pokémon! I know it was just one because when I caught up to him I saw him calling back his Pokémon with only one pokéball. The pokéball looked real funny though; not like the regular ones most trainers use. I don't know what kind it was because I haven't seen it before."

There was coincidence, and then there was blatantly obvious. Coincidence had just been tossed in the back seat. "Is your teacher an older guy with messy hair, who wears a heavy looking vest, and has an attitude worse than a Primeape?"

"That sounds like him," the boy said with a nod. "Do you know him?"

"She's the one I'm meeting with," Akuma said from behind him as hefinally caught up, nearly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late, I was repeatedly delayed."

Kurishimi stared for a minute trying to figure out which question to ask first. "I hope this isn't the start of a new trend for you," she finally got out.

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Akuma said, but his face remained fit for a poker table so surprise wasn't obvious if he really was. "We'll be lodging in the Pokémon center back in Cerulean for tonight. It will be dark by the time we arrive there and we'll need sleep anyways. Let's move."

He started down the Cerulean roadway back to the city, once again not watching to see if the other two followed. Kurishimi caught up to walk beside him in order to ask more questions.

"So who's our new scapegoat?" she asked jokingly.

"My new student apparently. He wants to learn from the best on how to be the best so I'll be teaching him when I get the opportunity."

"That's really unlike you. What brought this on?"

"Kid's got something. I don't know what it is, but he's got it. I'm interested to see what I saw in him even though he lost his battle badly."

"So what's his name?"

"I didn't bother to ask. It won't make a difference in his training whether I know it or not and I don't feel pressured to learn another name I'll overhear being used eventually anyway."

"You're so cruel, you know that?" Kurishimi said with a cold look. Then at the same time they both said, "It gets the job done."

"No need for comments that you already know the answer to," Akuma continued.

"You could still do with a change though, Akuma. Being cruel isn't necessary to finish the job all the time."

"I'll practice if I feel like it. Until then your badgering is pointless."

Kurishimi noticed a different tone in his voice while he talked. "Is something wrong?"

"I had to use my backup to make it to the crossroads in time," Akuma said as he grimaced slightly.

Kurishimi slowed for a second as she remembered what happened outside Mt. Moon a few days ago. They had been ambushed by the criminal gang Team Rocket following a battle between Akuma and another trainer that ended in a stalemate. The Rockets were numerous and had been drawn to the immense energy that the two sides had put out during the battle. In just a short time there had been a thunderstorm, tidal wave, heat wave, earthquake, and something that she couldn't begin to describe all from the two trainer's Pokémon using their highest level of attacks. Akuma had held off two rockets with two of his own Pokémon in two separate battles, but after losing all battles with each trainer, the Rockets took off the gloves and attacked the entire group with every member and Pokémon they could bring to the fight. In desperation Akuma used a Pokémon that not only defeated the Rockets and their Pokémon, but nearly tore down half of the nearby forest on a rampage before Akuma was able to recall it. Kurishimi had been led away from the group momentarily, but she'd seen that the Pokémon Akuma used was more than a little dangerous. Afterwards Akuma informed her that the creature was so brutal that he couldn't control it at all and refused to use it except in the most extreme emergencies. Even then it was a last resort option that he might not use at all.

"And… what happened?"

"Same as last time, but I was able to recall it as the final opponent went down. I acted out of rushed impulse though and could have used one of my other Pokémon to get out of that mess. It was a poor decision on my part and I knew better but did it anyway."

"Couldn't you be over thinking this a little too much? Something happened that you weren't used to and it threw off your judgment for a moment. Of course you would make a mistake then, it's only natural."

"You still haven't seen its real power Akashi. Not even outside Mt. Moon was it comparable to what I've seen it do. If you'd seen what I'd experienced you would know that I overreacted too much."

"You apparently aren't going to let this go so I won't argue with you, but I still think you shouldn't beat yourself up over it like you are."

"I don't care what you think."

Feeling a little hurt, Kurishimi stepped back a pace to walk between him and the boy following them. She realized she hadn't introduced herself to him yet and slowed down until he caught up to her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked before she could say anything.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kurishimi said putting on a fake smile. "Akuma's just hard to deal with sometimes."

"You don't look well. Did he say something mean?"

_I don't care what you think._

"He's just like that sometimes, don't worry."

"Like what?" the boy asked with a confused look.

"Um, nothing, don't worry about it. Hey, my name's Kurishimi, what's yours?"

"I'm Chad," The boy said with a smile more real than Kurishimi's was. "I'm going to be the League Champion someday!"

"Oh really? Are you just taking the gym challenge in this region, or will you be traveling everywhere and mastering everything?"

"I'm just doing the one at the Indigo Plateau, but when I can I think I'll go everywhere I can to become the champion all around the world too!"

"That's a big goal you have. How are you going to do that?"

"I'm going to get Akuma to teach me everything he knows of course! If there's ever a person that I think could be the best it's him. If I get taught by the best trainer ever I can be the best too. But now I don't think I might make it."

"Why is that?"

"Well he beat at least three people's full Pokémon team with only one of his. That's incredible no matter how you look at it! If I'm going to be the best trainer in the world then I need to beat him first. Even if I trained until I was an old man I don't think I could ever beat him and since he's not a champion I don't know how much better than him I'll have to get."

Kurishimi remembered her match against Misty that morning and recalled that she once felt the same way. "Well don't worry, he's taught me a lot of techniques and strategies too. When I beat Misty in a match this morning I surprised myself even!"

"Aww," he moaned looking down at the ground. "I've tried to challenge the gym before too, but I keep on losing against the studying trainers and can't ever get a glance from Misty. I don't know if I'll learn enough in three weeks to convince him to keep me around."

"Why do you only have three weeks?"

"He told me that unless I get lots better in three weeks I won't be able to keep learning from him because he won't teach me anymore. I need to learn as much as I can quickly or I'll never make it."

"Don't worry about that," Kurishimi replied with a now real smile. "I'll help you learn too. That way you'll become stronger even faster."

"You said you beat Misty, but are you really strong?"

"Misty told me afterwards that I battled like a trainer in the Pokémon league after we were done. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as being strong doesn't it?"

"Yeah I think it does. So can you help me when he's not?"

"It would be my pleasure! I can stay warmed up in case I have unexpected battles too."

Shortly after that they arrived at the Pokémon Center where they turned in their Pokémon for the night. Akuma left only two of his Pokémon with the nurse and went to use the videophone as he did whenever they spent the night at a center. Kurishimi and Chad retired to the trainer's rest area while Akuma did his thing. After they had gone to sleep and the center began to quiet down Akuma switched out two of his pokéballs with someone on the other end of the line and silently left the building around midnight. He returned two hours later and retired in the same room that Kurishimi and Chad were already asleep in.


	5. The Road to Saffron City

**I have two things to apologize for regarding this chapter. First is the length, which may be the longest chapter in my story so far, if not the most. I got carried away while writing it and didn't make a break partway through. Considering the size of my chapters normally it may be all the more difficult to read through this one.**

**Secondly I apologize profusely for listening to old school Pokémon music while writing the early scenes in this chapter. Really, it sounded better in my head with the music.**

Chad woke up groggily and looked around to find himself in an unfamiliar setting. He tried to remember what happened the previous night and recalled getting a room with two more people he was now traveling with; both of them being very capable trainers. He got out of bed and got dressed, then left the room and found the other two waiting for him in the lobby. His teacher, Akuma, was retrieving two of his own Pokémon from the nurse at the counter and the girl, Kurishimi, was trading two of hers with someone else through a videophone trading system. Chad walked to the counter and asked the nurse for his own Pokémon that he'd left behind from the night before.

When the three of them left the southern city gate onto Route 5 Akuma spoke up. "Kid, do you have any Pokémon with you that can travel quickly and carry you either by running or flying?"

"I have one, why do you ask?"

"We're going to give our Pokémon a warm-up exercise while we head to Saffron. Release it and get ready to travel via Pokémon express."

"Do you two have your own Pokémon that you can ride?"

"I made an exchange for one this morning," Kurishimi said. "We would've ridden out of Cerulean, but mine isn't suited for city travel. Akuma was waiting until we got out of the city before we took off."

"So will you be flying with the dragon that carried me yesterday?" Chad asked his teacher.

"No, I exchanged it last night for a different Pokémon. I'll be riding instead of flying this time. Send out your picks and let's get going."

Kurishimi went first, releasing her Onix. Chad fell over backwards at the sight of the giant rock snake which caused both Onix and Kurishimi to laugh. Seeing Onix laugh with its trainer made Chad feel more relaxed and he stood up to reveal his own Pokémon. A small horse with a mane and tail of fire appeared from the pokéball and Chad climbed on with excitement.

"My older brother sent me this Pokémon from southern Kanto," he explained with a wide grin. "I don't get to ride Ponyta very much since I haven't really gone out of the city before now. I'm glad he can get some exercise today."

Kurishimi climbed on Onix in return and watched to see what Pokémon Akuma would use. Up until now the only Pokémon he'd used for transportation was Charizard and she had no idea what other Pokémon he possessed which he could suitably ride on. Akuma pulled a white pokéball from his strap that looked like it was hand crafted instead of produced in a factory. She hadn't seen any pokéballs crafted like this one before. He opened the pokéball in hand and a tall, wingless, two legged bird with three heads appeared. Each head had a different expression on its face and all were looking in different directions like a sentry.

Kurishimi extracted her pokédex and read that the Pokémon was called Dodrio and was best known for its incredible speed at running over any distances. She imagined what kind of battle capability it might have in addition to its speed. Chad watched Kurishimi while she read the information and kept staring until she put it away, but didn't say anything. Akuma mounted his Pokémon and Dodrio allowed him on without any visible change in posture with the added weight.

"It's a straight run from here to Saffron," Akuma explained to Kurishimi and Chad as he got more comfortable. "In terms of speed Dodrio would get there first and your speeds will vary based on how well your Pokémon's conditions are. This isn't a race, and I want us all to arrive at Saffron's gate within five to ten minutes of each other if possible. I'm going to take some side roads since Dodrio needs more exercise than yours do. You can either split up or travel together, but we will all be at Saffron's gate within three hours time from now. While this is normally not possible on foot, we can all make it there with time to spare on Pokémon. You can head straight there if you wish or distract yourself with whatever you can find. I'll see you there when you arrive." He kicked Dodrio's side and the three headed bird sprinted off faster than any other Pokémon the other two had seen.

"Hey," Kurishimi said to Chad, "I don't think Akuma's sure which one of us is faster. Want to have a race to find out?"

Chad gave a cocky grin at the challenge. "I don't plan to lose you know." Ponyta gave a toss of its head as if agreeing with its trainer, sparks from the fiery mane scattered into the air as it did so.

Onix gave a roar and crouched low preparing to charge forward. Ponyta lined up next to the giant and pawed the ground impatiently, awaiting a signal.

"Go!" Kurishimi yelled and the two Pokémon charged forward onto the grasslands earnestly.

Onix was tearing a trail into the ground as it ran and Ponyta was running right beside it with Chad spurring it on excitedly. People on the dirt roads yelled out for either when they saw the competition and the trainers waved back in response as they passed. Even wild Pokémon cried out in excitement when they saw the one on one competition. Both trainers and Pokémon were pushing as hard as they could to win, but eventually Ponyta pulled ahead of Onix slightly after ten minutes into the race. As the race dragged on Ponyta gained more and more distance until the Pokémon became tired and slowed to a crawl before stopping entirely. Their trainers were just as excited and partially tired from the rush.

After a moment of breathing Kurishimi asked, "How much training do you do with Ponyta?"

"Not as much as I'd like to," Chad replied as he petted his smiling Pokémon's neck. "I want to make Ponyta stand out from the others too by being one of, if not _the_ fastest Ponyta around. I bet we could do it, but we need to train more often than we are right now. He's got the potential, and all we need to do is practice now that I'm not in the city anymore."

"Then I'm glad we had the race now while I still had a chance," Kurishimi said, impressed at the speed despite lack of proper training. "I might not have gotten a better time to race you in my favor. Do you know where the Saffron gate is?"

"Straight south that way like Akuma said," Chad said with a point of his finger. "I've been there a time or two before with my parents."

"In that case I'm going to have a look around the area for any Pokémon I want to catch," Kurishimi said. She hoisted herself back on top of Onix's head as it raised back up to begin moving again. "I'll be seeing you there, all right?"

"Yep, bye!" Chad tapped Ponyta's side with his shoe and the fire horse trotted off to the southeast. Kurishimi turned Onix around and headed back the way they'd come to start her search.

"How was that, Dodrio?" Akuma asked his mount as they watched the race finish from half a mile away; the two had circled around and run back to watch the inevitable race that the two trainers were sure to do. They had kept pace with them and even gotten closer, but the racers were too focused on the race to realize they were being followed. Dodrio's head with a face of joy made a positive birdcall. "It was fairly enjoyable. How well do you think Ponyta did?" Now the face with a sad expression made a low cooing sound. "I noticed that. I'm no one to guess, so I'll just ask you: how old do you think that Ponyta is?" The joyful face twittered again. "It does look like it was just released almost. May only be a young face on an older body too though." Now Dodrio's middle head, one with an angry expression turned around to peck at Akuma and give a sharp chirp. Akuma batted the peck away like he would shoo off a fly. "You're just jealous because you don't look as young as Ponyta does." Now all three heads turned to peck him at once, and once again Akuma knocked them all away. "Since they're finished we can leave now. Let's see if we can find something interesting to occupy our time while we wait." Dodrio turned its heads back around and started a slow trot across the area.

"Did he come this way?" Kyle asked his Team Rocket partners Chris and Niklos.

"I think so," Niklos said. "He was traveling with two others also I think."

"I wonder if they might be as strong as he is." Chris asked to no one in particular.

"One of them looked extremely young," Niklos remarked. "I doubt that he's been training long enough to put up any level of resistance against the likes of Team Rocket."

"What about the third?"

"We can't make any guesses about her," Kyle said as he scanned the area with a pair of binoculars. "Either way I don't see any of the three. We need to get those Pokémon back quickly. The police report that was submitted said all but four of Bill's Pokémon were returned to him, meaning the one who found us could have them on his person still. Bill's Pokémon are highly coveted by trainers, so even a lowly Raticate raised by Bill is worth the attention of Team Rocket."

"Hey, I like my Raticate, Kyle," Chris said with a glare at his senior who didn't catch it since he was still looking out over the grasslands.

"Your bond with your Pokémon will hinder your performance significantly," Niklos replied for Kyle. "When we reach our next base we're getting you switched out for a Golbat instead."

Chris was about to respond when Kyle cut him off. "I've found one of the two he was traveling with. Let's hurry; if we can catch up we might be able to cut a deal to get those Pokémon back later."

The Rocket trio ran down the hill toward the person they had spotted. Even if they weren't the person that stole from them they could still be followed back to Bill's Pokémon.

Kurishimi had ridden on her Onix for almost the entire stretch of Route 5 and hadn't seen any Pokémon she wanted to capture. Once she saw what looked like a Pidgeot, but it was actually another trainer's Fearow so she moved on. Finally she gave up and hopped to ground. She recalled her Onix into its pokéball and decided to walk the rest of the way on foot. Kurishimi enjoyed the quiet scenery while she traveled and stopped to watch the occasional wild Pokémon or a trainer engaged in battle. After some travel she heard rapidly approaching footsteps and turned to see three people running toward her each wearing black clothes and a red scarf. She stopped to wait for them to catch up, but when they drew closer she spotted a single red R on their shirts. Kurishimi recognized them as members of Team Rocket and pulled Vulpix's pokéball from her belt, making sure to hold it just out of sight from the other three.

When they caught up the lead member asked, "Are you a traveling companion of The Hunter? We have been tracking him since yesterday morning."

"You'll have to be more specific sir," Kurishimi said with fake respect. "I only know names, not titles."

"We don't his name either," the man hastily replied. "He wears a black vest and carries an Infernape with him. That's all we know."

Kurishimi tilted her head as if she was thinking to herself while she adjusted the pokéball in her hand to release Vulpix at a moment's notice. "I think I know him. I've been traveling with someone like that for a while now, but we aren't meeting up again until later. How soon do you need him?"

"Immediately, if possible," another of the men in black said. "He has something with him that we need to collect quickly before we can return to our supervisor."

"What is it?"

"Doesn't matter, we need it as soon as possible. Can you arrange a meeting with him?"

"Well he's not going to want to meet with you unless he knows what it is that you want."

"He has some Pokémon with him that belong to us," the third one explained.

"Pokémon huh?" Kurishimi said, now genuinely interested. "Why would he be carrying Pokémon around that belong to you? And why would you have to track him down for two days if he wouldn't be delivering them to you at a certain location? Also, how would you know what Pokémon he carries and not know his name? I think there's something you aren't telling me about this whole thing."

There was a brief pause as the three men considered Kurishimi's words carefully, before the lead man turned to the third. "Chris, this girl is too smart for her own good. We will continue the search along the side roads. Incapacitate her and bring her to the southern gate at the end of this route." The first two men ran past Kurishimi leaving the Rocket member named Chris to fight Kurishimi.

"You stole those Pokémon from someone didn't you?" Kurishimi asked while she sized up her opponent. "He took back those Pokémon and you three are supposed to recover them, is that right?"

"That is correct," Chris admitted. "Those Pokémon came from the genius Pokémon collector Bill's house and are very valuable."

"It doesn't matter who owns them if you steal anybody's Pokémon," Kurishimi stated even though she was aware of how valuable those Pokémon would be. "Theft is still theft."

"Not to Team Rocket," Chris shot back. "If the trainer is well known then his Pokémon should be powerful to match his status. Team Rocket wants powerful Pokémon to use for our own, and powerful trainers have those Pokémon."

"That still doesn't justify theft, nor does it guarantee that you will easily find the most powerful Pokémon or trainers based on popularity alone. There are some trainers in existence that you will never know about if they aren't made public."

"And you know of such trainers I presume?"

"That is correct; I know of three such trainers. One I met briefly less than a week ago, another is the trainer your companions are going after right now."

"And the third trainer is?"

"Me," Kurishimi opened the pokéball from behind her back and Vulpix popped out onto the battlefield.

"No you aren't," Chris said with confidence. "If you were, then you would know that Vulpix becomes more powerful by using a fire stone to evolve into Ninetales. If you had skill you would know that you can only win by having the most powerful Pokémon you can get your hands on!" So saying he opened his own pokéball and a gray humanoid Pokémon with three crests on its head appeared in front of its trainer.

Kurishimi recognized it as a Machop, a fighting Pokémon with surprising amounts of power. In the wild it trained everyday, pulling off superhuman feats of brute strength that were beyond most of the strongest humans in the world. Machop was a Pokémon that was all about the brawns. In this battle it would defeat Vulpix by scoring a single well placed hit on the body.

"Not a bad choice," Kurishimi commented. "But I think we can hold our own against it. Vulpix, use a confuse ray!"

Vulpix's eyes glowed sharply and Machop took a step backwards as the confusion took over. Under Kurishimi's command it then went on the offensive with an ember attack. The rapid short blasts of fire struck Machop repeatedly and left small burns on its body. Chris ordered Machop to strike back with a karate chop, but Machop's swing went wide and it ended up hurting itself due to the effects of confuse ray. Vulpix took the opportunity to close the distance with a quick attack which knocked Machop down to the ground. The fighting Pokémon wasn't out yet though, and after being hit it swung its arm around to graze Vulpix's side. The attack wasn't enough to end the fight, but it still did noticeable damage to Vulpix by causing her to lose balance and even out the playing field. Vulpix's speed had dropped from the strike and Machop was still feeling the effects of the first confuse ray which left both Pokémon at low battle capability.

"I will win this round," Chris said confidently. "My Machop will eventually lose the effects of your confuse ray attack and strike back without a chance to defend yourself. Your weak Vulpix on the other hand has battle damage that will not fade over time. All Machop needs to do is survive and the battle is won."

"You are an idiot trainer," Kurishimi spat. "You haven't thought about how capable your opponent might be. Vulpix, torch your opponent until it cannot fight back."

Vulpix took a deep breath and from its mouth erupted a concentrated stream of intense flames that crashed into Machop violently and bathed it in fire. Chris's jaw dropped as he watched the high powered attack wash over his Pokémon entirely. When the attack ceased Machop was seen lying down on the blackened ground clearly unable to fight any more. Chris recalled his boiled Pokémon and angrily threw another combatant into play.

This time the opponent was a floating purple ball with a warning mark under its face. The surface was spotted with pores that leaked noxious gas. Not recognizing this combatant, Kurishimi referred to her Pokédex and found its entry as a Pokémon called Koffing. It was a poison type fighter noted for a body filled with dangerous gases. Not wanting to risk Vulpix's flames coming in contact with any potentially explosive gases, she switched her active fighter to Ekans.

The young snake hissed threateningly as it caught sight of Koffing and coiled itself into a threatening pose. Koffing emitted what sounded like a laugh and charged straight for Ekans. The two connected and Ekans fought back with a poisonous bite attack; catching Koffing before it could get away.

"Ekans," Kurishimi yelled from the side, "you can't poison another poison type Pokémon!"

Ekans seemed embarrassed, but didn't release its grip and instead switched to a regular bite strike. This attack Koffing felt more painfully and released a smokescreen as Ekans chewed on it. With a sharp spin Koffing tossed Ekans away, leaving the snake blind in the smokescreen it had just created. Ekans could not see its opponent and was left to strike only at empty air where it thought Koffing might be hiding. Koffing would not leave its opponent alone in the dark though, and started another barrage of tackles. As Ekans was taking damage Kurishimi consulted her Pokédex to compare her Ekans' data to that of Koffing. So far Koffing had used only tackles and a smokescreen so she determined that it was at a relatively low combative level. While she had only captured Ekans recently herself, the battle experience it had learned from the gym battle the day before along with some other brief battles made it just slightly more combat experienced than its opponent. Kurishimi called for Ekans to use a screech attack which it fired after Koffing struck with another tackle. The attack had an effect on Koffing as everyone heard a comical groan from somewhere within the gas cloud. Ekans launched itself at the sound and connected with another bite attack. It followed up by wrapping itself tightly around the gas Pokémon and squeezed tighter and tighter as the gas smokescreen around them began to dissipate. When Koffing had been squeezed tightly enough it fell unconscious and Ekans released it for the trainer to recall his Pokémon.

"You're losing this battle," Kurishimi said with a half smile. "Leave now before your entire team is down. I'm beating you 2 – 0."

"I have to follow orders and do what Kyle orders me to." Chris threw out another pokéball and a fat rat Pokémon with yellow fur appeared standing on its hind legs. It was a Raticate, and while Machop had power but not speed, Raticate was fast and had lots of power in its bite. Kurishimi released Jigglypuff with the intention of using the same knockout move she had it use the other day against Misty's Omastar.

"Jigglypuff, keep your distance from Raticate and use a hyper voice to bring it down."

Jigglypuff's body inflated as it sucked in its breath to use its attack, but Raticate wasted no time in charging in for the first strike. Raticate hit Jigglypuff and knocked it backwards into the air due to its light body. Jigglypuff retaliated with hyper voice before it touched the ground and Raticate received the full force of the blow. Kurishimi expected it to at least cringe if not go down, but Raticate ignored the attack entirely and leapt at Jigglypuff with its mouth open intending to bite the balloon Pokémon with its sharp fangs. The smaller Pokémon was to slow to move out of the way and Raticate succeeded in a hyper fang attack. Jigglypuff tried to endure with a defense curl, but Raticate violently shook its head back and forth while clamping down and Kurishimi's Pokémon eventually fainted. When Jigglypuff was finally dropped onto the ground Kurishimi recalled it and started reconsidering her opponent's power.

His first two Pokémon were at a low level and easily taken out, but the Raticate was fighting on a whole other level. She started to reach for Vulpix's pokéball but saw lingering effects of Koffing's gases in the air. Ekans wouldn't last long against an opponent of this caliber and she wanted to save Vaporeon in case he had stronger backup in reserve so she released Onix to fight instead. When the rock Pokémon appeared it was anxious to fight since it had been left out of the gym battle the day before. What Onix didn't recognize though was how agile Raticate was. Still, Onix had the type advantage since rock type Pokémon typically had incredibly strong defenses. Both Pokémon were nearly even in advantage and disadvantage so the battle was anyone's to win.

Onix took the initiative with a slam attack. It swung its tail quickly across the ground which Raticate easily evaded. Raticate leapt up onto Onix's tail and tried gnawing on its rock body, but to no avail. Onix raised its tail up high and brought it crashing back down to the ground hard to shake off Raticate. Raticate jumped off before the impact and used a pursuit move to strike back. The dark based move did more damage to Onix than the gnawing before had done, but it was still hard to break through the rock hard defenses. The exchange of attacks continued for a time and neither Pokémon showed signs of losing, but both did start to slow down from exhaustion. Finally Kurishimi ordered a dig and Onix burrowed underground leaving Raticate to wait until Onix resurfaced before it could counter. Raticate spun around in nervous circles watching and waiting for any sign of its opponent to resurface. While it was looking around it didn't notice the ground it was standing on start to bulge as if something was pushing out from underneath. Chris called out when he noticed, but he was too late as Onix erupted from the ground with Raticate caught in its mouth. Onix soared straight up into the air by sheer momentum and when it was almost out of the ground completely it twisted so its head was facing downward and slammed headfirst into the ground with Raticate underneath. Onix released Raticate from its jaws and reared back to wait for its opponent to move. When the smoke cleared Raticate was revealed with bad cuts and bruises from being crushed between rock and dirt. It wasn't finished yet though because it went down on all fours and started charging toward Onix again. As it closed into striking distance Onix flipped the rest of its tail out from the ground and tossed large chunks of dirt and gravel at the attacking Raticate. Raticate was stopped by the sand attack and while it was immobile Onix finished it off with another head butt ensuring that Raticate wouldn't rise again.

Satisfied with the outcome Kurishimi recalled her Onix and waited for her opponent's next move. Chris recalled Raticate and hesitated before taking out what appeared to be his final pokéball.

"Better think twice about that," Kurishimi said coldly. "There isn't a Pokémon in the Kanto, Johto, or even Sinnoh regions that I haven't studied up on and know how to fight."

Chris smirked at her words. "You didn't mention Hoenn I noticed. Let's see if that was a mistake." Chris released his final pokéball and the Pokémon that appeared was indeed one which Kurishimi did not recognize.

It had a wide face similar to a horse's, but its legs were so short they could hardly be seen other than the feet. Its fur was red which covered most of the body except for the muzzle, hooves, and two humps on the back. Kurishimi couldn't figure out if the humps were made of stone or dirt, but they certainly seemed to be important. She pulled out her pokédex and held it out to get the information, but the return message stated that there was no information to be retrieved.

"Oh not again!" she yelled in frustration. It had happened twice before with two of Akuma's Pokémon that she had tried to pull information from. She had gotten the same message then as well.

"You obviously haven't been taught about Pokémon from the Hoenn region," Chris observed. "My Camerupt came from the foot of a mountain in the center of that region. I caught it when it was still a Numel and now it's my secret weapon in battles."

Kurishimi chewed her lip as she tried to come up with a plan to fight a Pokémon she didn't know about. To her disappointment she had no clue on what to do since her opponent hadn't given her any information.

"It's a dual type fire and ground Pokémon," said a voice behind her. Kurishimi turned and saw Akuma still mounted on top of Dodrio looking down at her. "Avoid using electric or grass type Pokémon; they'll go down shortly after entering battle." Chris recognized him and started to call out but Akuma stopped him short. "The battle will continue on from here. Consider me as just a bystander for the time being. I want to watch this fight."

"Now that you're here I'm changing plans," Chris yelled back. "I'll capture you and take to back to Kyle for interrogation. Camerupt, attack him with your hidden power!"

Camerupt raised itself up onto its hind legs and came back down to stomp the ground causing energy orbs to begin revolving around it. It roared and the orbs went flying towards Akuma to strike Dodrio's body in the center. Dodrio endured the hit without flinching and appeared to have suffered no damage.

"Dodrio, what was it?" The bird Pokémon squawked a couple times before Akuma sat up in his seat again. "Okay, avoid its attacks, but don't leave the immediate area." When the order was given Dodrio started evading attacks as Akuma gave Kurishimi instructions. "Here's your objective Akashi! Protect me and Dodrio while defeating the Camerupt. I'm not getting involved in this unless you lose."

"What? How am I supposed to protect you two and fight Camerupt at the same time? I don't know how to fight it at all."

"Then be glad we're drawing all of its attention for now because you'll have time to come up with something; now fight!"

He was right; Chris and Camerupt were trying to attack Akuma so much that Kurishimi was now ignored. She had a chance to hit with one strong attack and she had to make it count. Basing her battle strategy off of her opponent's types she released Vaporeon to attack. Kurishimi ordered Vaporeon to use bubblebeam which Vaporeon fired in a long stream of fast moving water bubbles toward the enemy Pokémon. The quick moving stream hit Camerupt dead on and the damage done was obvious. Both of Camerupt's base types were weakened against the water based attack and had taken severe damage.

Chris turned angrily on Kurishimi and ordered his Pokémon to attack with flamethrower. Kurishimi had planned ahead though and recalled Vaporeon before the order had finished. She ran backward quickly before Camerupt let loose a stream of fire after her and as the fumes left over from Koffing's gases were licked by the flames they exploded around the Rocket and his Pokémon. Kurishimi and Akuma were far enough back from the detonation that they and their Pokémon were unaffected fortunately. When the smoke eventually cleared both Rocket and Pokémon were seen lying face down on the ground unconscious.

Akuma rode over to the pair and dismounted Dodrio then fished out Camerupt's pokéball from among the Rocket's Pokémon and recalled it. Instead of putting back the pokéball though, he stared at the red and white sphere until he noticed Kurishimi staring at him. He replaced the pokéball to its holding strap and got back up on Dodrio. "Let's find the kid quickly; we need to get to Celadon earlier than we had originally planned."

"I'll have to ride with you," Kurishimi said. "My Onix completely exhausted his energy in that battle."

Akuma dug into one of his vest pockets and tossed a super potion to Kurishimi. "Use that to heal it then. Dodrio can't carry more than one at a time for very long. I'll meet you at the northern gate. If you spot the kid bring him with you or tell him to get to the meeting place as quickly as possible." Akuma kicked the sides of his bird Pokémon and sped off toward the southeast.

Kurishimi brought out her Onix and happily saw that it wasn't as beaten as she had originally thought. She sprayed the contents of the potion on Onix's wounds anyway and the large Pokémon quickly regained its strength. Kurishimi climbed on behind its head again and ordered it toward the gates of Saffron.


	6. Desperation

Chad had looked for Pokémon that he wanted to catch after he'd parted from Kurishimi but hadn't found any that interested him. Since Ponyta was winded from the race he'd let it travel at a brisk trot across the plains. Soon they came upon a small creek where he dismounted Ponyta for a brief rest. Ponyta gladly drank from the water while Chad sat down on the bank. On the other side of the water they saw a Mankey fighting with a Raticate who seemed to have stolen its fruit lunch. The Raticate was faster than Mankey and appeared to be playing with it by staying just out of reach of the smaller Pokémon. Chad watched them until they got farther away then shifted his gaze down to look in the creek.

He watched different kinds of Pokémon travel down stream from Magikarp to the tadpole Pokémon Poliwag. He thought about catching some, but since he didn't know how to control water type Pokémon he decided against it. He was about to stand up to go when he saw a new Pokémon in the creek wiggling through the mud face first. He waited a little longer and watched the little blue creature out of curiosity. It had a round head, quite larger than its body which was much thinner and had very thin black stripes across its belly. Its feet were connected to its body without any legs and appeared to have a tail similar to Poliwag's fin, but thicker. When the little creature was done wiggling under the ground in the water it swam to the bank and climbed up onto land then shook the water off of its body. It took three steps up the bank before noticing Chad was sitting nearby. When it saw him the creature let out a small scream and tumbled backwards down the bank into the water again. Chad laughed at the clumsiness of the little blue Pokémon and watched it poke its head out of the water to stare at him with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

Chad closed his eyes halfway and stuck his head forward with a goofy smile on his face. "Boo," he said and the Pokémon ducked its head back under the water. He laughed and it slowly came up again. "I see you down there," he told it. The creature ducked under the water again and swam to a part of the bank where there were some cattails to shield it. Chad pretended that he hadn't noticed and continued to watch the spot of the water where it had gone under. The Pokémon peeked around the cattails and slowly waddled around behind Chad. Then it looked up and saw Ponyta staring down at it which caused it to scream again and start running back toward the water for safety. When it turned around though it lost balance, tripped over its own feet, and fell down clumsily which caused Chad as well as Ponyta to laugh. It got up again and backed up toward the cattails cautiously, eventually turning to run into the foliage for safety.

Chad saw its eyes looking out at him, but decided to leave it alone for the moment and stood up to leave again. He mounted Ponyta again as the water Pokémon popped its head out again; apparently very curious as to why Chad was sitting on the back of a Pokémon. "Good to meet you little one," Chad told it before he turned Ponyta around to leave, then stopped short when he saw a man dressed in black with a red 'R' on his shirt running towards him. He felt nervous, but waited to see what would happen.

"Tell me," the man in black said to Chad after catching his breath, "aren't you traveling with a trainer who fights with an Infernape?"

"I've never heard of that Pokémon," Chad replied. "I only know about Pokémon surrounding Cerulean City with some exceptions. You'll have to be more specific."

"The person I'm looking for was seen riding a Dodrio away from two other trainers earlier today. I believe that one of those trainers was you."

"Yeah, I know him. Why do you want to find him?"

"He's got something I need to have back immediately and I want to pick it up as soon as possible."

Chad tried to think of something Akuma would have that would interest someone else but couldn't come up with anything. "What's he got that you need? He wasn't carrying anything noticeable that I saw."

"It's a Pokémon that I'm supposed to pick up from him. He might have more than one, but I need to get as many as he might have."

"Oh, so it's a business deal?"

"Yes, of sorts. In any case, can you tell me where to find him?"

"He's somewhere on this route, but I'm supposed to meet up with him in a few minutes at the northern Saffron gate. I'm on my way there now so I can take you there to see him."

"Thank you young man. You've helped me a great deal, but I'm afraid I cannot meet him with you."

"Why's that?" Chad asked with a very confused expression.

"Because with your Pokémon you might prevent me from completing my job; which is to take back the Pokémon we stole that he confiscated from us." With those words the man snapped his wrist forward and a pokéball was tossed onto the ground. It opened up to release a large blue bat with purple wings whose body seemed to be a huge gaping mouth. Chad hadn't seen the Pokémon around Cerulean before, but it resembled a Pokémon in Mt. Moon called Zubat that was smaller and built more agile than the larger Pokémon that hovered in the air before him.

Chad was about to protest, but realized that negotiating didn't seem to be an option with this man. On top of that, he wasn't in a position to negotiate. While still on Ponyta he threw out a pokéball and his Rattata, a small purple rat, appeared. He was unsure how to fight the unusual Pokémon, but he decided that he would treat it as a Zubat since that was the closest comparison he knew of. Rattata seemed to be outclassed, but he couldn't outrun his opponent on Ponyta and the best option seemed to be to defend himself.

Before Chad could give Rattata a command, the man in black called for a wing attack. The bat swooped down and struck Rattata with one of its big wings causing Rattata to go flying. It bounced once before landing in front of Chad. His opponent swooped around coming back to strike with another wing attack, but its time its trainer called it by name as Golbat. Chad pleaded for Rattata to get up quickly before the Golbat could strike again. Rattata regained its footing just as the larger Pokémon came swooping down again, but this time Rattata dove forward under the arc of its attacker. Chad thought quickly about how to counter the larger Pokémon and commanded a quick attack. Rattata took the offensive as it ran after Golbat before it could take to the air again. It caught up and tackled the larger Pokémon in the back, but Golbat spun around immediately and after a command from its trainer it fired a supersonic scream at Rattata from its mouth. The small mouse cringed at the loud sound, seemingly paralyzed. Chad wasn't faring as well either as he was also covering his own ears. Ponyta as well was trying not to move or it would throw its trainer from its back. When Golbat ceased the supersonic attack Rattata was still reeling from the aftereffects of the attack. Chad recognized the effect as confusion, which was dangerous to the affected Pokémon since damage could result from failed attacks and thus give the opponent an opening for a more damaging and well aimed blow. Without any other choice, Chad recalled Rattata to its pokéball and ordered Ponyta to attack.

The fire horse's mane flared up as sparks of fire flew from the mane straight for Golbat as an ember attack. The attack was spread out enough that Golbat's body was struck by multiple flames, but even Ponyta's fire attacks weren't strong enough to sufficiently damage the stronger Pokémon as Golbat dove straight for Ponyta with an open mouth to strike with a vicious bite. Ponyta scored more hits with its ember attack before Golbat clamped down on its neck, but didn't let go. Golbat instead began draining blood in a leech life attack that would replenish its own health while sapping the energy from its opponent. Chad tried to push Golbat off of Ponyta's neck, but couldn't reach. Instead of attempting again he recalled Ponyta into its pokéball safely, but didn't consider the fact that after Ponyta was inside its pokéball he wouldn't be sitting on it anymore. Both Chad and Golbat fell to the ground and Chad opened another pokéball before Golbat could get into the air again. Because he was rattled though he'd grabbed the first pokéball he felt and didn't know what Pokémon would appear. Still, anything would be better than him being such an easy target.

After the flash from the Pokémon appearing Chad saw that he'd released a small mouse with brown and tough skin. "Sandshrew, attack that Golbat before it gets in the air again!" he commanded. The mouse ran over to Golbat who was making its way back up into the air and delivered multiple scratches in the form of a fury swipes attack. Golbat was brought down again and Sandshrew, despite the type disadvantage, was clawing itself a surprising victory against the more experienced Rocket trained Pokémon. Before Golbat could pass out the Rocket recalled his Pokémon and sent out a dog Pokémon with red and white fur. Chad had seen the Pokémon before, but didn't know what it was called. It didn't look like a normal type Pokémon, but he couldn't guess as to what type it was either.

"Sandshrew, throw up a sand attack," he called. Sandshrew started digging around in the sand and dust flew everywhere. Some flew towards the Rocket's dog Pokémon and got in its eyes which partially blinded it. The dog wiped its face with its paws, but was unsuccessful in removing the sand.

"Growlithe," the Rocket commanded, "attack that mouse with your take down attack." The dog stopped rubbing its eyes and ran towards the center of the dust cloud Sandshrew was throwing around. The dust storm was an effective shield it seemed since Growlithe's attacks missed Sandshrew and it reappeared on the other side of the storm.

"Scratch attack quickly," Chad called again. He was trying to stay calm, but in truth he was panicking and trying to think of attacks that he could use effectively against a faster opponent. Sandshrew ran out from the sand storm cloud and scratched the back of Growlithe with a direct hit. Sadly the attack was ineffective at doing sufficient damage because of Sandshrew's lack of battle experience, and Growlithe turned to attack with embers in the same way Ponyta had earlier. Chad decided that Growlithe must have been a fire type which would give him a minor advantage with Sandshrew, but since his opponent was at a much higher battling level than he was the type difference didn't matter. Sandshrew was knocked down quickly and Growlithe finished it off with a bite attack before Chad had a chance to recall it. Sandshrew was knocked unconscious.

Chad called Sandshrew back into its pokéball and thought about using Nidoran, but Growlithe was obviously too dangerous for even Nidoran to face. Chad caught himself reevaluating his formerly weak Pokémon as one of his strongest after watching the way Akuma had battled with it the day before. "Maybe I should fight fire with fire," he said to himself, and sent Ponyta back onto the field. Growlithe charged Ponyta for a head on attack before Ponyta was completely out on the field, but Ponyta reared back on its hind legs before Growlithe had closed the distance and slammed its front hooves into Growlithe's face. The dog Pokémon bounced backward and quickly got up again. The Rocket commanded another ember attack from Growlithe which spread not only over Ponyta, but also in a small radius around it which kept Ponyta from escaping. Chad gritted his teeth and rushed through his Pokémon capable of battling a higher level opponent, but couldn't find a solution to the problem. Growlithe and its trainer were fighting on a much higher level than he was at so there was no end in sight. Even if he managed to knock out Growlithe there was still Golbat to face again as well as other Pokémon that the Rocket member might have ready to fight with. Growlithe was the immediate threat however. To defeat it though, he would need some water Pokémon at the very least. Then he got an idea.

Chad recalled Ponyta and released a small brown bird Pokémon named Pidgey. He commanded Pidgey to use a continuous sand attack for cover while he got to work. Pidgey flapped its wings and a gust of wind whipped up the sand that Sandshrew had been rooting in earlier. The cloud of dirt nearly engulfed the Rocket as well as Growlithe. The man couldn't give any commands without his mouth filling up with sand, so Chad turned back to the stream where the Pokémon he had spotted earlier was hiding at. He saw that the Pokémon had come out from cover entirely to watch the battle.

"I'm sorry to force this on you," Chad told the small creature, "but I need your help to win this battle so I can get away." Chad opened his final pokéball and the Elekid he had acquired from Bill appeared in front of him. "Elekid, I know you're still young but I need your help right now. Can you help me weaken that Pokémon so I can capture it?" Elekid gave a single nod before getting into a combative stance facing the water Pokémon. The wild Pokémon changed from its formerly cowardly demeanor and leaned forward in a threatening pose ready to battle which both surprised and impressed Chad.

Chad, using the strategic suggestion Akuma had given him the day before, ordered a leer from Elekid, followed by a quick attack. Elekid glared at the wild Pokémon before sprinting forward and slamming into it. The wild Pokémon fell back, but quickly regained balance. It retaliated by firing a stream of water from its mouth at Elekid, a water gun attack. It was Elekid's turn to be pushed back now, but Chad ordered another quick attack as soon as the water gun ceased. Elekid tackled once more and before the wild Pokémon could fight back Chad threw an empty pokéball at it. The pokéball connected and opened up to suck the creature inside. After landing on the ground the release button of the pokéball began to glow a deep red. The ball shook back and forth as the Pokémon inside tried to fight its way out from the capture device. After a few seconds the ball stopped shaking and the glow faded away indicating a successful capture.

Chad recalled Elekid and commanded Pidgey to use its gust attack. Pidgey adjusted the pattern it flapped its wings to a harder form which caused a small tornado to appear in the dust cloud, blowing it away. The gust attack also did damage to Growlithe and threw more of the dirt in its eyes which would further lower the accuracy of all attacks it made. Chad ordered Pidgey to use a quick attack on Growlithe while it was stunned. Pidgey dive bombed Growlithe at top speed doing damage equal to the tornado attack from before. After a couple more quick attacks it seemed like Growlithe was beginning to regain its eyesight so Chad called Pidgey back into its pokéball and released the water Pokémon he just captured.

"Okay, I don't know what you are or what you do," he told the blue Pokémon, "but I'm counting on you to beat Growlithe." It was common knowledge for trainers that a newly caught Pokémon was difficult to control in battle if the trainer and the Pokémon had no practice in working together, but there was no way Chad could win against a superior opponent unless he had a Pokémon with at least a type advantage. "Use your water gun from before!" he commanded. His Pokémon responded with a successful water gun attack, spraying Growlithe from a distance. The fire dog was drenched completely in the front. Chad took the chance when it paused to order another water gun attack. Once again the spray hit Growlithe in the face, but this time when the spray was stopped Growlithe collapsed. The Rocket returned Growlithe to its pokéball and sent out Golbat again just as Chad was afraid might happen.

"Aw man, not you again!" Chad complained. "Do something original!"

Before the Rocket could respond a brown blur flashed past Golbat, knocking it out of its hovering position. Chad tried to follow the blur, but it came back around in a wide arc and slammed into Golbat again. As Golbat fell the blur stopped to reveal Akuma riding on Dodrio. "Recall your Pokémon immediately," he said to Chad. Chad did so and as soon as it disappeared Akuma picked up Chad by the shoulder and Dodrio ran off towards the south leaving the Rocket behind. After they had ran for a mile Akuma told him, "Send out Ponyta," and then stopped Dodrio to let Chad go. When Ponyta appeared Akuma tossed a blue berry into its mouth that he produced from the pouch on his waist. "Get on Ponyta and race it straight to Saffron's gate. You should be able to see it from here, but just run directly south if you don't." He tossed a Pokeball to Chad after the boy had mounted Ponyta. "We're going there at full speed. If you run into any more trouble that pokéball is your ticket out. Now go!" Dodrio sprinted off leaving Chad with numerous questions. Not wasting another moment, Chad spurred Ponyta onward toward the southern gate and looked at the pokéball Akuma had tossed him. It was that of a normal pokéball design, but there was a number eight carved into the front of the red half as well. It also seemed as if the number had been carved over a design that was originally painted on. The only part Chad could make out was a curved orange line moving upward.

After ten minutes of riding, Chad arrived at the building marking the entrance to the northern part of Saffron City. The city was surrounded by a short wall marking the city borders and buildings had been placed at the north, south, east, and west walls to allow travelers through. The wall wasn't intimidating and most Pokémon of higher levels could break the wall down, so it was mostly just for show. Nobody even remembered the reason it was built in the first place.

Chad dismounted and recalled Ponyta and joined Kurishimi and Akuma who were standing at the building's entrance. Both had their backs turned to him and were talking about something he couldn't hear. When he got closer Kurishimi turned out to greet him, but Akuma kept his back turned.

"Are you ready to go into Saffron City, Chad?" Kurishimi asked him.

"Oh yes. I've only been here once a long time ago so I don't remember what the city's like inside. What are we going to do here?"

"Well the usual plan after we come to a new city is to find the nearest Pokémon center," Kurishimi explained. "After we find it we don't need to search for it after night falls and we're all tired."

"There are a number of them within the city walls," Akuma continued. "Saffron is so big that there are more Pokémon trainers than just one could handle so more were built to help accommodate the traffic. Saffron is in the middle of the Kanto region and is a crossroad to many different cities. Because of this there are more people, Pokémon, and businesses here than any other city. It is also a good place to get into for almost any reason you can think of. And just so you know Akashi, this city is even large enough that _two_ Pokémon gyms exist here; although one gym no longer gives out gym badges."

Kurishimi's eyes widened as she heard the extra challenge she was given. Chad saw her excitement visibly as she could barely contain herself and rushed forward to the building entrance ahead of them. Akuma sighed at her enthusiasm then looked back to motion Chad forward.

As Chad and Akuma approached the doors Akuma told him, "Get your trainer's license ready if you want to pass customs."

Chad tossed Akuma back the pokéball he'd borrowed earlier. "My what?" Chad asked in confusion.

"Your Pokémon trainer's license. They won't let you pass if you don't have one."

"What is that?"

Akuma stopped walking. "Do you not have a trainer's license?"

"No, I've never heard of them before," Chad shook his head still confused.

"This isn't good. If you're carrying Pokémon and you don't have a license on you they won't let you through the gates into Saffron."

"Where do I get a trainer's license?"

"Normally you would get one when you receive your first Pokémon. Didn't an instructor give you anything like that?"

"My brother sent me Ponyta and some pokéballs for my birthday and told me to start working on becoming a trainer quickly. He didn't say anything about a trainer's license."

"Alright, I need to think for a minute. It won't be easy to get you through the gates otherwise."

"Can you take my Pokémon for me until we get through the gate so I can just go as a regular kid?"

"No, the gate guard checks all Pokémon of every trainer to make sure nobody is carrying stolen Pokémon. If they check your Pokémon's identification signatures and see that they don't match my ID we'll be under arrest immediately. We'll need to find a way to smuggle them or you in without getting inspected."

"Hey guys!" Kurishimi called from the doors. "Aren't you coming? We've got to hurry up or I'll never get to either gym!"

Akuma looked at Kurishimi and then back at Chad. Then something very odd happened, the corner of Akuma's mouth twisted up giving the impression of a grin. "I have a plan," he said with a tone of mischief in his voice.


	7. Entering Saffron City

"Akuma," Kurishimi said through gritted teeth, "if this doesn't work I owe you a beating."

"Not in front of the gate guard, dearie," Akuma told her as they drew closer to the man at the desk halfway between the doors.

The man looked up and saw the approaching duo with Chad being pulled along by Kurishimi. He looked back at his computer then stood to acknowledge the three. "Welcome to Saffron City. What is your business here?"

Akuma spoke for the group. "We're a Pokémon trainer family passing through. This is my wife and son." Kurishimi twitched behind him as he said 'wife'.

"You all have Pokémon then?"

"Yes. I and my wife have six and my son is carrying five."

"I'll need to run your Pokémon IDs to make sure they are registered to you all and check your trainer licenses as well."

Akuma put his pokéballs on the counter and Kurishimi undid her belt, leaving her Pokémon attached, and placed it on the counter as well. Akuma pulled out a card from a vest pocket and gave it to the guard who scanned it and the pokéballs. After checking each one the guard returned Akuma's belongings to him. Kurishimi placed her pokédex on the counter and the guard's eyes widened. He looked back and forth between Kurishimi and the pokédex before picking it up with a trembling hand and opened it carefully, then scanned her pokéballs while watching the screen of her dex. He then returned them to her. "I'm impressed," he said; his hand still shaking as he returned the pokédex to her.

"Thanks, I got lucky," she replied with a wide grin on her face. "Chad? It's your turn now."

Chad walked up to the desk and placed a total of six pokéballs on the counter. Akuma's eyes narrowed as he knew he'd checked when they left Cerulean as to how many Pokémon Chad had on him. Chad must've acquired a new one before they'd arrived. "I thought you had five Pokémon?" he asked.

"I did, but I caught one today when you two weren't looking," Chad said with a wink.

"What did you get… honey?" Kurishimi asked with a slight pause as she remembered the act they'd had to put on to get through the gates without much trouble.

"I honestly have no idea!" Chad said with an embarrassed laugh. I saw it in the stream and decided to catch it." Akuma noticed how well the boy phrased his responses so they would understand him and not make things more complicated with the gate guard. "I was going to ask you earlier, but forgot about it."

"That's fine. Go ahead and scan them all," Akuma told the guard.

"I'll need your trainer ID number first sonny," the guard told Chad.

"Oh, about that," Kurishimi jumped in. "He just helps us catch Pokémon. He isn't a certified Pokémon trainer yet. We let him catch Pokémon for us and we raise them. Then when he takes the Pokémon trainer's test and gets his license we can identify which Pokémon he caught himself and we'll let him use those too. Part of the reason for our visit today is to let him take the test actually."

"That's an unusual plan. Do you think it'll work?"

"He'll have to earn them back," Akuma explained. "Of course we won't just give him a full crew and expect him to do well. We're going to make sure the Pokémon are in good hands which is part of the reason he carries these with him most of the time."

"Well it sounds like you know what you're doing. Did you catch all of these Pokémon yourself, son?"

"All of them but my Ponyta. My big brother gave it to me so I could protect myself from other Pokémon before my Mom and Dad let me start practicing."

"Strange family," the guard said quietly as he checked the pokéball IDs. When he was satisfied he returned them to Chad and dismissed the group.

"That went almost too well," Kurishimi whispered.

"Speak for yourself, my mouth hurts from smiling so much," Akuma groaned while he rubbed his cheek. "Assuming the guard scanned all our pokéballs correctly, we just need to make it through the detector before the doors and we're all set."

The pokéball detector was a simple gate at either end of the building that checked pokéballs going in or out, depending on which doors they were set up in front of, to identify pokéballs containing Pokémon not scanned by gate guards. To avoid confusion, only one person could walk through at a time and two guards stood by each side in case something took a turn for the worse. Chad walked through first and the alarm stayed silent. Kurishimi went through and the same happened. She turned to look at Akuma and saw him looking back at a line of people.

"You coming, hon?"

Akuma looked back like he'd forgotten. "Oh, sorry. I thought I saw someone familiar."

Kurishimi opened her mouth to speak, but as Akuma passed through the sensor the alarm sounded. Akuma stepped back startled and looked at the nearby sensors to see if anyone else had set it off. The other people passing through had stopped to look over at him. Since no one was going through he tried again and the alarm sounded once more. A guard stepped toward him, but Akuma ignored the authorative figure and started rifling through his pockets for other sensitive materials that might set off the alarm. After checking his outer pockets he reached inside his vest and stopped.

"Oh, that thing. Go on ahead without me you two. I'll catch up in a few minutes. Find a nearby map and let me know where the nearest Pokémon Center is so we can crash for the night." He ignored the guard again who intended to escort him back to the gate guard they'd talked to earlier and walked on ahead with the other man behind him.

"Why'd the sensor go off?" Chad wondered out loud. He put up all six of his pokéballs didn't he?"

"I think I know what happened," Kurishimi said quietly. "I'll let you know later perhaps. Let's go do what… Daddy… asked us to do."

Chad laughed to himself at her pained words and let her lead him out into the city leaving Akuma behind.

"I heard the alarm, what went wrong?" the guard asked as Akuma approached the desk again.

"Forgot one of them," Akuma replied, not bothering to appear friendly or courteous this time. He pulled out his seventh pokéball from his vest interior and placed it on the counter with a loud and heavy thud despite how gently he'd set it down. The guard raised an eyebrow at him as he saw the blood red colored pokéball the other had placed in front of him.

"What is that?"

"Something you shouldn't open."

"Are you carrying _seven_ Pokémon with you?"

"This one is too dangerous to leave in the computer storage. It's also too dangerous to use, which is why I don't consider it a Pokémon I have on my team."

"The Pokémon trainer rules clearly state that a trainer shouldn't have more than six Pokémon in their lineup at any given time unless the Pokémon storage and transfer system is down or if the person has special privileges and you have no pokédex."

"I am aware of the situation, but my employer has spoken with the league authorities and I have been allowed to keep this one on my person at all times regardless of what the rules in Kanto, Johto, or any other region might have. This is a rare exception."

"Do you have any proof? Who is your employer?"

Akuma reached into his vest again. As he did the guard who had followed him grabbed his shoulder. Akuma slapped his hand away in annoyance and pulled out a card from somewhere to give to the gate guard. The man took it and read it over, then froze as his eyes passed over the information. He looked up at Akuma who only stared back with his trademark glare. He set the card down and rapidly typed on his computer keyboard as he searched the files for something specific. Soon he stopped and looked at what he'd found briefly before handing the card back to Akuma. Unlike Kurishimi's pokédex which brought fear in the form of respect, the new card had produced a look of absolute terror on the guard's face. Akuma picked up the pokéball again and held it out for the guard to authorize, which he hastily did.

"I thought you were-," the guard began.

"I know what you thought. It's what everybody thinks. Or at least what everybody's been told."

"When did you come back?"

"We never left. And we'd prefer it very much to stay that way if you get my meaning."

"Y-Yes sir, you can count on me. And those other two aren't really your family I assume?"

"They're baggage; the useful kind, but baggage all the same. And they are unaware as well."

There was a tense silence as neither of them said a word. "Enjoy your stay in Saffron City," the guard finally managed to get out.

"As best I can," Akuma said as he stuffed the ball back into his vest and walked away quickly.

The gate guard slumped down into his chair with a heavy sigh. "First I see a pokédex holder and now one of them. Two greats in a row, I never would've seen that coming."

"What was that all about?" the door guard asked, having never seen what Akuma had handed to the gate guard.

The gate guard turned his monitor toward the other to show him what was on screen. The door guard snapped his head up to look at Akuma, who by now had disappeared. "That young man?"

"Yeah, I think we've seen just about everything there is to see at this job."

After Chad had gotten over the initial shock at the size of Saffron City that came with stepping out onto its streets he ran to the nearest shop to explore. Kurishimi followed him with the intention to ask for directions to the nearest Pokémon center, but ended up getting caught up in the merchandise as well. They left the store with less cash than when they had entered, but Kurishimi remembered to ask directions before they left. When they came out they saw Akuma emerge from Saffron's gate and immediately joined him.

"I can't leave you two alone for ten minutes, can I?" Akuma said as he saw the bags the two were carrying. "Please tell me you picked up food of some sort."

"We did," Kurishimi responded. "And we also got both directions to the nearest Pokémon Center and a map of the city. There's one just a couple blocks down the road on this street."

"We'll go there. I still haven't decided where we're going to go after we leave so we might stay a couple days. There's a lot we can do here in the meantime. Let's move." Akuma walked down the road to the east with the other two following behind him as was the norm.

When they reached the Center they found that unlike Cerulean which was nearly bare in Pokémon trainers, this one had quite a few people inside. Some were in line to heal their Pokémon, some were resting and talking on the waiting benches, some were in conversation on the videophones, and others could be seen going to and from the various rooms. Akuma had Chad get in line since his Pokémon had been more badly wounded, then had Kurishimi follow him over to the videophones. Akuma took a corner seat and Kurishimi sat in the spot next to him. When there were a lot of people around, Akuma had Kurishimi sit next to him to decrease the chances of people hearing his conversations. Kurishimi called her parents each time to speak with them and to talk with Pokémon she sent them that she didn't carry with her. She didn't know who Akuma spoke with, but she respected his privacy enough to not listen in on his conversations. All she knew for sure was that his team lineup changed every time he made a call. After Akuma had finished his call he tapped her once on each shoulder as he left to let her know he was done. When Kurishimi had finished her own call she got in line to get her Pokémon healed as well. Since Chad had finished checking in his Pokémon Akuma led him into a separate room for a talk.

"It would seem that there may be some conflicting points in my training you," he started after they had sat down. "Every time you catch a new Pokémon you need to adjust your training and battle strategies to fight more efficiently. Since I want the playing field to be fair I can't help you in your tactics and training anymore."

"Am I on my own until the deadline then?" Chad asked with a worried look.

"No, I've got other plans. Akashi will help you with Pokémon training and I'll help you learn how to battle effectively. I'll ask her to assist you as well and we'll get something worked out. Worst case scenario, I push the deadline ahead by a week."

"How will I train if we're going to be in the city for a while?"

"This is the largest city in Kanto. There's obviously going to be some areas to practice in. Tomorrow I'll look around and see if I can find you any. I think we're all going to be busy for a while in a city of this size. Just stay alert and don't get taken advantage of."

"Bad city?"

"All cities can be if you look hard enough. Even Viridian and Pallet have their dark secrets."

"Never heard of them."

"They're small compared to Cerulean. I wouldn't expect you to. Big cities are the most problematic though. Do you have any Pokémon with you at the moment?"

"Just Elekid, why?"

"It's best to keep a couple Pokémon on hand as a good fall back plan in case anything unexpected should happen, especially in places like this. Pokémon Centers are great targets for thieves since a large variety of wounded Pokémon are gathered in one area at once. If I wanted to steal Pokémon, I'd start by targeting a Pokémon Center."

"I guess you're right about that, but all my other Pokémon were wounded in the battle against the man in black."

"The man from Team Rocket. A perfect example of the thieves I just told you about. In a town this large I expect they have a strong presence here too." As Akuma finished speaking the lights in the room went off. "I really, really hope that's a normal blackout," he said to the darkness.

The golden light of sunset was shining through the glass doors at the front of the center so the two walked in that direction. Most trainers in that room followed them and they found that the power had also been cut in the lobby. Kurishimi ran over to the group when she saw them. Akuma noticed that only three pokéballs remained on her belt clips.

"Is the power out in the other rooms too?" she asked.

"Black as the middle of the night," Akuma replied. "I'm going to see if it's just this building. Wait here." He went to the doors, but they didn't open automatically. He pushed then pulled before giving up and looked down the street from indoors anyway. "The power is still on elsewhere," he reported. "Akashi, check on the pokéballs with the nurses and make sure none are missing. Boy, come with me. We'll check on the wounded Pokémon not in their pokéballs."

"Feel free to call me by name at anytime, Akuma," Chad said as they rushed into the back rooms.

Fortunately most to all of the interior doors weren't power based so Akuma and Chad had full access to the back rooms of the hospital. Chad checked some of them, but Akuma continued his pace down the hall until Chad stopped searching and instead just started trying to keep up with him.

"Why aren't you checking the rooms for Pokémon like you said?" Chad called ahead to his mentor.

"Pokémon who cannot receive treatment through their pokéballs are kept in intensive care and recovery. We only need to check on two rooms."

"Why did you send Kurishimi to the pokéball storage then? Won't there be more Pokémon to steal if this is a raid?"

"Normal thieves will try to steal pokéballs and hope that what they get away with will have valuable Pokémon within. Regular thieves Akashi can handle on her own. If this is a step up form the norm and more organized criminals are involved they'll go straight for the intensive care Pokémon hoping to find Pokémon worth stealing. Those kinds want Pokémon that are either rare or worth a lot of money and if they get away with any that aren't it would be a waste of effort. Akashi's Pokémon were wounded too badly today to fight again so soon. Team Rocket members are usually very strong and their Pokémon are equally dangerous as you noticed. They set the standards for other criminals to compare themselves too. I wouldn't trust anyone to battle them and win very easily."

"Then why did you want me to come with you?" Chad wailed, as the distance between them started closing up.

"If there's more than one enemy to deal with I may need help securing the injured Pokémon in the room at the time."

Akuma stopped in front of a door labeled for recovery and put his ear up to it to listen. He made a face after a few seconds and muttered, "I wish I had Gastly with me right now."

"A ghost Pokémon?" Chad asked.

Akuma hushed him with a finger and stepped back from the doors. He unclipped two pokéballs from his chest strap and hid one behind his back. "I hear movement inside," he whispered. "Keep them from seeing your pokéball until I call for your help. Protect the wounded Pokémon inside while I take care of them."

Chad nodded then put a hand to his belt to check Elekid's pokéball as Akuma peeked in the room. He held up two fingers then pushed it open and stepped inside casually. Chad saw two men dressed in the same black clothing he'd seen earlier that day loading a Pokémon into a truck that had backed through the wall leaving no wall left to speak of.

"I told you someone would come if the power was cut!" one of the men told the other.


	8. Prepare For Trouble

"I knew somehow that this wasn't a normal blackout," Akuma said with a glare at the criminals.

"Oh no," the second one said in alarm. "It's the Hunter! Get in the truck, we need to get out of here!"

"Never heard of him," the first said. "And we were told to put down any witnesses that interfered."

"We can't win against the Hunter though. We need to take what we've got and get back to the rendezvous."

"You take the truck then. I'll follow you on foot after I've removed him."

The second Rocket dropped the Growlithe he was carrying, got in the truck, and drove it out and away from the building.

"Too slow," Akuma mocked having already thrown his pokéball out the opening. Charizard emerged and before it had fully appeared, Akuma ordered it to catch the truck. Charizard flew after the speeding vehicle leaving the three behind in the half emptied room.

"So you're skilled enough to handle a Charizard? I can give you credit for that, but I doubt you have anything more powerful," the Rocket said as he opened a blue colored pokéball of his own and a green and yellow frog appeared.

"I do hope you have something better than that or I won't have any fun," Akuma taunted in a menacing voice. He snapped his wrist forward and the other pokéball he'd hidden behind his back went flying. It opened to release a 5 foot tall green colored Pokémon with wings and huge blades for arms before his opponent. Outside the room Chad cringed at the sight of the beast. "Scyther, power blade and confusion," Akuma commanded. The huge bug Pokémon stood up straight and spun slowly, then picked up the pace and created a gust of wind in the room. Two seconds passed before it stopped without momentum and split itself into multiple copies that took up half of its side of the room; a double team maneuver. Chad didn't understand why Akuma had given such commands that were not actual Pokémon attacks save for confusion, but this one didn't look like it could learn psychic attacks and didn't appear to be using any as well.

"Politoed, hit them all with hypnosis," Akuma's opponent said to the frog. Politoed spread its arms and released a hypnotic psychic wave at the Scyther copies.

"Hasty execution," Akuma snapped. Scyther copies bounced to different spots in the room then closed the distance to its opponent and cut horizontally inward with both arm blades. Politoed dropped to the ground before its hypnosis attack could begin to take effect.

Politoed retreated into its pokéball and now the attacker countered with a brown humanoid Pokémon with legs looking like springs and claws on its feet. Its only facial feature was two almond shaped eyes. "Hitmonlee, identify that Scyther with your foresight."

The fighting Pokémon's eyes glowed as it swept the room looking over each Scyther carefully until it identified the real one. Immediately the clones vanished. On command it then followed up with kicks that stretched across the room to strike at Scyther from afar.

"Speed it up," Akuma instructed. Scyther became a blur as it dodged the fast moving kicks while Akuma looked on. Before too long he again said, "High low; split the difference and hack." Now Scyther double teamed again with one copy. One flew above Hitmonlee's kicks while the other crouched down low and used its wings to dart toward Hitmonlee with outstretched blades. Hitmonlee was confused at first, then brought its leg down to the lower Scyther and struck home with a low kick. The upper copy vanished while the real Scyther fell face first toward the floor. "Dance, foot, and slice!" Akuma snapped. Scyther drove one blade into the ground blindly, used it as an anchor while the rest of its body continued toward Hitmonlee with the remaining momentum, planted a foot down when it reached the end of its blade length, found a secure footing, then spun with the momentum, and brought its other arm up in a slicing arc to cut Hitmonlee from top to bottom. Hitmonlee lost its ground and recoiled from the severe hit. Before Hitmonlee could regain its balance Scyther struck again by bringing its other blade up and smacking it with the flat side. Like Politoed, Hitmonlee dropped to the ground unconscious.

The Rocket recalled Hitmonlee and kept his arm extended after it had disappeared into the pokéball. "You're… strong…"

"Comes with experience. Surrender now."

"Not yet, I still have one more chance to win," the Rocket said with a twitching grin. As he pulled out another pokéball Akuma recalled Scyther. "Why are you pulling him back?" the Rocket yelled.

"No sense carrying on after a kick from Hitmonlee. Scyther made a blind strike when it was dizzy. It didn't hit at full power. There was a lot less damage than there could have been."

_That was weak?_ Chad thought in shock.

"I'll even give you better planning by making the first move this time," Akuma said as he unhooked the pokéball he had loaned to Chad before arriving at Saffron. Chad watched closely to see what kind of Pokémon he'd held in hand a few hours ago. Akuma threw the ball and Infernape appeared in the middle of the room. Chad stared at the Hoenn Pokémon in wonder until Akuma called back to him. "Chad, start getting the injured Pokémon out of the room. We'll cover you."

"Got it!" Chad called with extra enthusiasm at the mention of his name.

Akuma turned back to the Rocket. "Your move."

The Rocket grinned broadly. "I've never seen that one before, but it's obviously a fire type and I know how to fight those." The pokéball was thrown, and the opponent was revealed to be a red octopus with a suction mouth and large eyes. "This win is mine," the man gloated. "No one's ever beaten my Octillery!"

Infernape and Akuma stared at the water Pokémon for a moment then looked at each other. Akuma shrugged and told Infernape, "Whatever you feel like doing I guess." Infernape turned back toward the octopus and started hopping left and right with its arms raised in a fighting pose. Now it was the other's turn to look confused.

"What… is that monkey doing?" the man asked incredulously.

"I'm letting him battle on his own," Akuma replied. "I'm letting him decide how to fight this battle since I don't need to give commands."

"Octillery has never been defeated!" the Rocket yelled back.

"Then you must have never had it battle. Go on without me, I don't care. Let me carry that Tentacool, Chad."

The Rocket and his Octillery were both fuming. "Octillery, fire an octazooka attack at that monkey!" he yelled in anger. Octillery latched its suctioned tentacles to the floor and fired an inky glob at Infernape from its mouth. Infernape cartwheeled in the air to the right and landed closer to the two before resuming its dance. More attacks followed in the form of multiple beams. Octillery used a psybeam, bubblebeam, ice beam (one of these nearly hitting Chad and a Pikachu), and even a flamethrower was used. But after each strike Infernape stepped aside and closer to his opponent until he was a few feet away, then lunged and began striking repeatedly with arms, feet, and even tail until Octillery became dazed and collapsed. Akuma came back in as Chad carried the last Pokémon out and called Infernape back into its pokéball.

"Well now that that's taken care of, drop your pokéballs and surrender," he told the Rocket member.

The man flinched at the sight of his fallen Pokémon, then called it back as well and after returning it to its spot on his belt, dropped it to the ground. Akuma looked at the belt to make sure six pokéballs were attached, and then approached the Rocket to apprehend him. But when he grabbed the other man's arm, he was hit in the face with an uppercut. Akuma fell back a pace and glared at the other man wondering what he was doing. He couldn't escape, Akuma had six healthy Pokémon, and the other had dropped all six of his to the ground.

"I'm still not beaten," he said through a laugh. "I have a trump card." He reached into his pocket and pulled out another pokéball with a red color on both halves.

"A seventh pokéball is it?" Akuma asked with a cold stare. "How did you get access to that?"

"I am a member of Team Rocket. We don't play by the rules!"

"I am not convinced. You'd better tell me the real reason why you're carrying another. I'm not that easily fooled."

"If anyone knows anything when they see a seventh pokéball they know that it is dangerous. Certain people know exactly what it means when they see a seventh though, and you obviously don't."

"Then how about we make things interesting?" Akuma replied coolly as he pulled off a pokéball from his straps.

"What do you mean?"

Akuma pulled a cord on his vest and the straps crossing his chest dropped to the ground leaving him with just the one in his hand. The Rocket grinned broadly when he counted six Pokémon… until Akuma pulled out a blood red pokéball from inside his vest pocket. The sight of it drained the color out of the Rocket's face. "You're a confident one, so you're easy pickings. Now you know that I know that Pokémon is the strongest one you have. Since it's so tough I'll make you a deal: beat my sixth Pokémon and you go free. I beat you, and you come with me."

"That won't happen…. This Pokémon's power is unmatch-."

"So are mine in case you haven't been paying attention. Now release it and see how long you'll last."

Outside the center there was a loud crash and dust flew in through the hole in the wall. Akuma looked out and saw the silhouette of Charizard as it reentered the building and looked down on the criminal with an ugly glare. With nowhere to retreat the Team Rocket member assumed his fighting stance.

Akuma looked back at the doorway to see Chad had been joined by Kurishimi. "Go out through the hole in the wall and get those Pokémon out of the truck with Charizard," he told them. "I'll need all the room I can get."

Kurishimi and Chad ran out the hole with Charizard beside them, leaving Akuma to face down the seventh Pokémon on his own.

Charizard flew ahead of the trainers to the truck and ripped off the driver's side door, then reached in and pulled out the now unconscious Rocket member that had been driving the truck. When Chad and Kurishimi caught up they stared as Charizard pulled him out and dumped him on the ground like a bag of garbage, but didn't waste time saying anything. Chad helped Pokémon get out of the back of the truck while Charizard escorted those who could walk to the front doors of the Pokémon Center. When they arrived at the doors the power was still out, so Charizard simply punched through the glass doors and continued bringing Pokémon inside. Kurishimi checked on Pokémon that were unable to move individually and used super potions on each of them, drawing a large amount of the spray bottles from the bag she'd gotten at the store a few hours ago. When the Pokémon were unloaded Chad helped them to the front doors and Charizard did the same when it returned.

As the number of wounded Pokémon in the truck dwindled, the three could hear sounds of battle from within the room they had left Akuma in. There were screams and roars that could only come from the sounds of dangerous Pokémon. They couldn't see anything unfortunately since the attacks kept enough dust and air moving to block the darkened room in addition to the sun having nearly disappeared from the horizon leaving only a pink and orange glow painted across the clouds. In the end there was one Raichu left, the evolved form of Pikachu, that was in too bad a condition to move without the nurse's aid. Kurishimi had Charizard go get her while she took care of Raichu and Chad kept his eyes on the hole in the wall where a battle raged inside.

Eventually Kurishimi looked up from Raichu as well. After a minute she commented, "I don't think I remember Akuma being in a battle this long before…"

Chad looked at her then back. "So he's in a tough battle?"

"It seems that way. This is a first for him. I've never seen this happen before; pun on the lack of visibility aside."

"Glad I'm not in there after all."

"Me too; it sounds like one of the two is getting weaker now."

"Do you know which Pokémon he's using from the sounds?"

"One roar sounds familiar, but I can't place it. I don't know if it belongs to Akuma or the Rocket unfortunately."

One roar continued to quiet down and occur less frequently until multiple impacts could be heard. Then a charge followed by an impact sounded and a huge figure was thrown out of the building. Before Chad and Kurishimi could identify it, a beam fired from the building's interior and completely enveloped it so nothing could be seen. Fortunately the smoke cleared from the blast, but they were too focused on the Pokémon that had been blasted to notice that the building interior was visible now.

When it landed they saw it was a huge lizard monster with a rock body colored green and over six feet tall. It had a blue diamond on its belly and black holes in certain places over its body. Kurishimi quickly pulled out her pokédex to learn more. It was named Tyranitar and was one of the most powerful non-legendary Pokémon known. It had a unique type combination of rock and dark. They were very rare in the wild, and could change underground fault lines with their earthquake attack.

Kurishimi hadn't seen Akuma with this Pokémon before, so she assumed it was the Rocket's Pokémon. When she looked up toward the building again she confirmed it upon sight of Akuma jumping to the ground beside his Pokémon that had downed the monster.

Akuma's Pokémon was best described as a four-legged tank. Its body was coated in shining blue metal and stood at just over 5 feet high. On its face was a silver colored 'X' that had two sharp red eyes on either side. Its legs were slightly higher than the main body which sat lower in between all fours giving it the appearance of a four legged mechanical spider. Kurishimi had seen it before and knew it was quite possibly his most dangerous Pokémon he'd ever had since it evolved, but had only seen it used once just after evolution. Her pokédex had not recognized it, but Akuma had told her that it was called Metagross.

Tyranitar started to get up slowly and Akuma ordered Metagross forward again. As Metagross closed the distance Akuma ordered 'another meteor mash strike'. One of Metagross' front legs shone and the Pokémon floated up into the air before driving its claws into the center of Tyranitar's chest. The three spikes on Metagross' foot drove in deeper as Tyranitar flailed on the ground until Metagross finally let up. Tyranitar collapsed in a heap and didn't move in the slightest.

"Is it dead?" Chad asked after a momentary silence.

"I think it's knocked out cold. Doesn't seem conscious in the least," Kurishimi observed. "Whatever the case, I think Akuma won."

"No kidding. I'll pass fighting him anytime soon."

Akuma walked up to his Pokémon and pounded his knuckles softly on the metal casing a couple times which produced a low rumbling grunt from the behemoth before returning Metagross to its pokéball. Then he knelt down and examined Tyranitar. He said something to himself then went back inside the Pokémon center. After two minutes he came back out with Tyranitar's pokéball in hand along with his pokéballs strapped across his chest once more and returned it. He stuffed the pokéball in one of his pockets then called Charizard over. Charizard flapped its wings to airlift itself beside Akuma so Akuma could speak with it. They spoke for a moment before Charizard grabbed up the driver and went inside the Pokémon center with Akuma just behind him.

"Does Akuma understand Pokémon speech?" Chad asked.

"I'm not sure. I think he understands some of it to a point, but it could just be guesswork for all I know."

"I've so gotta learn how he does that," Chad said mostly to himself.

"Let's go see what's up," Kurishimi said.

They went inside the building again and found the Rocket unconscious beside the truck driver who was in the same condition. Akuma was checking the first one's ID number and other things he'd apparently found inside his uniform. Charizard was nowhere to be seen; presumably inside its pokéball again Kurishimi guessed.

"What are you doing?" Kurishimi asked him.

"He had a seventh Pokémon," Akuma replied without turning around. "I want to know why and where he got it from."

"Wouldn't it have been a recent catch that wasn't deposited into the system? The Pokémon I caught yesterday didn't get automatically transferred."

Akuma turned to look back at her with an expression like he was talking to a clueless child. "Do you think that a Pokémon like Tyranitar could possibly be found in this area? It's a third stage evolution Pokémon capable of changing the surrounding terrain with its earthquake attacks. All things considered, I highly doubt that it was a recent capture." He turned back to continue what he was doing.

"Okay, you've got a point. What if he didn't capture that one then but a different Pokémon?"

"I already checked that out. He has no Pokémon from this area so that's impossible. Either that Pokémon was swiped from the Pokémon center's pokéball holding area or it was stolen before they got here. Since you were at the pokéball storage when they were in here it didn't come from there. He also knew what Pokémon was inside before he sent it out and knew its power level enough to think he could win."

"What's the big deal about him having a seventh Pokémon anyway?"

"Know anyone else who has a seventh Pokémon?"

"I know one at least."

Akuma turned to look at Kurishimi again, but she just looked back with a knowing expression until she saw the light in his head turn on. "Oh, right."

"What's the big deal about it?"

"Not now Akashi. I'll tell you some other time maybe."

"Bet you won't."

"Bet you're right."

"Meanwhile our young hero decides he's hungry and leaves his two companions to their intelligent conversation to go find some dinner," Chad said as he walked out of the room. Akuma and Kurishimi stopped talking long enough to watch him go.

After he disappeared Akuma said, "Well he didn't get that from his father."

"What do you mea- Hey!" Kurishimi yelled and slapped the back of Akuma's head. "We're done with that now!"

"And here I thought you were enjoying it," Akuma said as he stood up after gathering the Rocket's things. "Call the police if you haven't already."

"The nurse has already called them," Kurishimi told him. "They should be here in a few minutes."

"Good work," Akuma nodded. "I'm going to leave for a while. I assume you can take care of things, Akashi?"

"I would hope so, but where are you going? The police will want to question you."

"The Rockets had to be meeting someone somewhere with their delivery. I'm going to sweep the neighborhood and see if I can find anything. If we wait then we may lose them. I assume you can take care of things and Chad can deliver his side of the story when his mouth isn't filled with food. I'll see you later tonight or tomorrow depending on when I get back." Akuma jumped out the hole and released Charizard again. As he mounted he remembered something else and turned Charizard back around to face Kurishimi. "Also I have something else to talk to you about concerning Chad's training. Ask him about it and I'll give you more details later on if you need them." Akuma tapped Charizard's side and the dragon took off upwards.

"I am never going to understand that guy," Kurishimi said to herself after he'd left.


	9. A New Teacher

**This point is where I started getting lost in what makes up the world I'm writing about, mostly regarding the pokédex and some minor details on trainer permissions that are granted. I've got things sorted out in my head now, but couldn't clean this chapter up without having to do a significant rewrite.**

That night the police spoke to the trainers in the Pokémon Center and especially Chad, Kurishimi, and the nurse. Chad told them about Akuma's assistance as well. The police waited for Akuma to return while they investigated the room where the majority of the action had taken place, but soon had to leave and took both now conscious Rockets away with them. When everything started to settle down Kurishimi looked around for Chad to ask him about what Akuma had mentioned. She found him sitting with a Rattata and Sandshrew in a treatment room which she presumed to be his.

"Are they okay?" she asked as she came closer.

Chad looked up at her. "They'll be fine. We were attacked by some other Rockets earlier. They got hurt pretty badly."

Kurishimi pulled a chair over. "So was I. Akuma had to help me out in the end, but I held my own until he got there."

"I didn't do too well. I lost almost everyone and only beat one Growlithe," Chad said looking back at his Pokémon. "Even then I had to catch a water Pokémon in the middle of the battle so I could fight back too."

"Hold on. You caught a wild Pokémon while you were in the middle of a battle? That's pretty impressive. Especially since you said you were outclassed by that much. What did you catch?"

"It was a spur of the moment decision. I might end up releasing it since it looked happy where it was. I've never seen it before."

"Do you have it with you? I'll take a look at it."

Chad pulled the pokéball from his belt and released the blue Pokémon between them. It shook its head and started bouncing up and down when it had fully emerged. Kurishimi pulled out her pokédex and scanned the Pokémon then read the data back to Chad.

"Wooper, the water fish Pokémon. This Pokémon lives in cold water. When it comes out to search for food at night it coats its body with a gooey toxic film. This Pokémon has elemental natures of both water and ground type Pokémon. Wooper grows quickly and is a good Pokémon for beginning trainers to catch." She closed her pokédex and put it back in her pocket. "Sounds like a good one Chad. I'd keep it."

"Do you think I should? It looked happy where it was before."

"Was it doing that too?" Kurishimi asked as Wooper ran laps around Rattata's bed while singing to itself.

"No. Actually it seemed pretty shy and nervous before."

"Probably happy to be away from the river for once I bet. Go ahead and keep it around. Akuma should have some ideas on how you can train it well. Speaking of which, he said he spoke to you about your training and told me to ask you about it while he was gone."

Chad told her what Akuma had said earlier. Kurishimi listened to the whole story and after Chad had finished she sat back in her chair and thought to herself. Chad kept silent while she did. Wooper kept running around the room until Chad got annoyed and returned it to its pokéball.

"I've never trained anyone," Kurishimi finally said. "I've only trained myself and been trained by Akuma. If that's what Akuma wants then I'll do it, but I want to see you train and battle your Pokémon before I figure out what I can teach you. I know about Rattata, Sandshrew, Wooper, and Ponyta. What other Pokémon do you have?"

"I have a Pidgey and a male Nidoran."

"Don't have any others?"

"I can only carry six on my belt at a time."

"I mean do you have any others in your assigned computer storage box?"

"What's that?"

"Oh, right. You haven't taken the exam for a registered license yet. When you get your Pokémon license you're allowed to get an account on the Pokémon storage system. It stores an unlimited number of Pokémon in a place of your choosing so you don't need to carry around more than six at a time. I've got a few Pokémon in storage and Akuma has an account too. You can also opt for the computer to keep track of your accomplishments in case someone is looking for a person with certain skills. While we're in Saffron I think we should set some time for you to take the exam."

"Sounds good, let's go."

"Not so fast hotshot. It's late and most of your Pokémon are wiped out. We both need to get some sleep soon."

"That's true. Okay, can I have something to study for the exam at least?"

"You'll get a study guide when you sign up. You'll just need to wait until then."

"I can get a head start though. What about your pokédex?"

"Not even if you traded me a Dragonair. Pokedexes are way too valuable."

"Then where do I get one to study with?"

"You can get a pokédex with information relative to the region you took your exam in if you get a good score on your exam. They're expensive to make so only a select few trainers can get any at the moment."

"What's the point of giving out all that information to people who got a high score to begin with?"

"Beats me but if the system isn't broke, don't fix it. I'm going to head off to bed now. You can either call it a night now or spend some more time with your Pokémon." Kurishimi left Chad for the resting area and Chad sat back down with his Pokémon. An hour later the nurse came in and found him asleep in his chair with Rattata off its bed and sleeping at his feet.

Akuma returned in the late morning and saw a new front door being installed while the remains of the old one were being cleaned up. He went in through the first opening he saw and found Kurishimi and Chad talking over his Nidoran. They didn't see him come in so he went to the phone service to make a quick call. He only took a couple minutes before joining the other two.

"Do you two have any plans for the day?" he asked when they noticed him.

"Chad and I are going to go to some trainer practice battles so I can figure out how to teach him. We're also going to get him registered for the trainer's exam so he can get his license."

"I've got someone coming to Saffron to meet with me later on," Akuma told them. "They'll be bringing you a software update for your pokédex so you'll have data on some of the more common Pokémon from the Hoenn region. It won't be a complete list, but I'm having trouble tracking down the full software update for it. I don't think it'll take too much longer, but you'll have something to tide you over in the meantime."

"Wayyyy over my head there," Chad said as he rubbed his head.

"We live in the Kanto region," Kurishimi started before Akuma had a chance to explain. "There are other regions with unique Pokémon to each. So far we know of our neighbor, the Johto region, and the islands of Hoenn and Sinnoh. We also recently found a group of islands to the south of Kanto known as the sevii island cluster I think, but they're still geographically classified as being in the Kanto region. My pokédex came with info on the Kanto and Johto Pokémon and Akuma helped me get data for most of the Sinnoh Pokémon. The Hoenn region update is difficult to get here, but he's working on getting those for me too."

"You two can do your own thing then. I have something of my own to take care of," Akuma spoke again when she'd finished. "I'll keep my eyes out for anything of relevance to either of you and meet you here when I'm done which could be from whenever we need a break to late night or tomorrow morning for all I know."

After Akuma left, Chad and Kurishimi worked with Nidoran for a while until it got tired so they gave it a rest while they tried to find the exam center. They walked around town aimlessly for ten minutes before remembering the map they had bought the day before. They got to the exam center in fifteen minutes more and Chad signed up for the test on the following day. They gave him a testing booklet which Kurishimi would have him read until test day, then went out to explore the city. They checked the map and found that a number of training areas were nearby so they made their way to those for some entertainment. Like Akuma had done, Kurishimi got to know Chad's battling expertise by having him describe combatants, their Pokémon, and battle styles. If a Pokémon lasted long enough in a battle Chad would also try figuring out its strengths and weaknesses in how he thought it had been trained.

The battle areas were set up so that newer trainers wouldn't be outmatched by long time veterans. Kurishimi stopped to watch a few of the experienced battlers but moved on before long. They made their way to the place where most newer trainers were fighting and Chad stepped into one of the rings on Kurishimi's suggestion. A girl who seemed to be about the same age as he was joined him and the judge made it an official match. Kurishimi got permission from the judge to stand behind Chad and offer advice on the condition that she let him fight the battle himself.

"How long have you been training?" the girl asked him.

"Almost one month," Chad replied. "This is the first time I've left my hometown though. What about you?"

"Not much more than a week. I've stayed in Saffron for the most part myself. How many Pokémon should we use?"

"I've got a full crew of six so whatever you decide is okay with me."

"Two on two then with no time limit?"

"I can do that. Ready when you are."

As they took their corners Kurishimi spoke to Chad quickly. "Whatever Pokémon you decide to use make sure your second one has a supportive type advantage. You can't switch between Pokémon in these kinds of battles without forfeiting a fighter so think things through and be careful."

Chad nodded and threw out a pokéball at the same time his opponent did. Rattata was fighting for Chad's side while a purple Pokémon with three stubby head spikes appeared as his opponent. Chad looked back to Kurishimi for help.

"It's Tyrogue, a fighting type. It's young but tough so be careful."

On command Tyrogue leapt forward and tackled Rattata back toward Chad. When it stepped back to repeat the move, Chad ordered a quick attack and Rattata rammed into Tyrogue pushing it back to its original position. At the same time both trainers ordered a tackle and both Pokémon crashed into each other and started trying to push the other back. At first Rattata was gaining more ground, then Tyrogue got a better hold with its arms and pushed harder. As Rattata was pushed towards the edge of the battle area Kurishimi told him, "This isn't a sumo competition Chad. Attack it!"

Chad looked for a way to attack without giving his opponent an opening, but Rattata didn't know any suitable attacks. Then he remembered that Pokémon battles included a bit of judo and saw what appeared to be an opening. He had Rattata jump backwards and Tyrogue fell forward having lost its grip and then its balance when it tried to recover. Rattata went on the offensive again with another quick attack leading into a bite and Tyrogue fell down in defeat. The girl recalled Tyrogue and now sent out a blue turtle with a red and yellow shell that stood erect on its back legs.

"Be careful Chad, that's a Squirtle," Kurishimi told him. "It's a water type and very easy to use. You'll need to be careful to win this one. It won't be easy to beat."

Chad took the initiative this time with a tail whip trying to appeal with its cuteness to lower Squirtle's defenses.

"Come on Squirtle, it's just trying to confuse you," the other girl was saying. Use your water gun on it!"

Squirtle fired a stream of water at Rattata and the little rat barely managed to avoid it. Rattata closed the distance with a quick attack but before it could strike, Squirtle fired another water gun that blasted it backward. Rattata was badly wounded, but still able to battle so everyone but Kurishimi was surprised when Chad called Rattata back into its pokéball.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked. "You can't switch Pokémon in the middle of our battle!"

"Rattata's done," Chad told her. "I don't want it to get hurt more than it has to."

The judge acknowledged the girl as the winner and Chad sent out his second Pokémon, Elekid. Kurishimi smiled appreciatively but the girl was confused.

"What is that thing?"

"It's called an Elekid," Chad told her. "I got it a few days ago from someone who lived north of Cerulean that couldn't take care of all his Pokémon, so he let me take one for myself."

"Who would have that many Pokémon and not use the storage system?" she asked in confusion again.

"He lived in a large building near the beach. I think his name was Bill. My teacher had a delivery for him so we stopped by and he let me take one with him." At the mention of Bill's name the girl, the judge, Kurishimi, and the rest of the crowd became eerily silent. "Did I say something wrong?" Chad asked, now feeling very nervous.

"You got that Elekid from Bill?" Kurishimi asked after finding her voice again.

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?"

"Bill is one of the most famous people in Pokémon trainer history. He invented and maintains the Pokémon PC storage system that I told you about. He's a Pokémon trainer celebrity."

Chad let the words sink in, and then it hit him. He'd been with one of the most famous people in the world and didn't even know it. What's more he was now carrying one of his Pokémon. Then Chad really flipped out; or rather, he passed out.

"Does this mean I win by default?" he heard the girl ask before he lost consciousness.


	10. The Master of Psychic Pokémon

**This is probably my favorite chapter in the story so far. Up until now we've seen Akuma fight the occasional battle like it was just something to do, but this is the first time I had him fight at full strength from the best I could manage. Whenever I write a new chapter I have his team set to a certain way so I can't cheat and give him a better outcome by switching out who's available to fight. That being said, I couldn't have ended this chapter any better if I went back and rewrote the whole thing.**

Akuma was about to come out of his element in a big way. After today he would have a wider range of people knowing about him and probably make himself less anonymous. It was unavoidable though if what he'd been told last night was correct. He needed more control and this was the best way for him to get any at the moment. He fingered one of the pokéballs on his chest and opened the door to the Saffron City gym building. Inside was a decorated hallway with amber colored marble pillars in line beside a red carpet that went down the middle of the hallway. Akuma stepped inside and closed the door behind him. His footsteps echoed hollowly with every step despite the apparent thickness of the carpet. The building seemed deserted, yet he walked onward to a door at the end of the hall.

When he'd reached the halfway point in the hall a person stepped from behind a pillar in front of him wearing a long white robe. "You are here to challenge Sabrina are you not?"

"I need the Saffron City gym badge," Akuma replied.

"Are you familiar with the psychic type Pokémon?"

"I am."

"If you require additional knowledge we can-"

"I know about psychic Pokémon," Akuma repeated.

"Very well," the other said with a hint of annoyance in their voice. Akuma couldn't tell whether they were male or female. "Come this way to Sabrina's battle area."

"If it's the door at the end of the room I don't think it will be hard to find my way there," Akuma told them.

"It is required that a challenger be escorted to Sabrina to make a challenge."

"As long as I get there quickly I don't mind."

The person led Akuma down the hall and opened the doors for him to step through. Akuma entered the battle area with the other person behind him. The arena was plain and non-distracting with a battleground illustrated on the floor in white. On the other side of the room was a large chair built like a throne at the top of a small number of stairs. On it sat a woman wearing a red button up coat at knee length with dark hair and a cold gaze that rivaled Akuma's.

"Lady Sabrina, you have a challenger," the escort said as they approached her. "He seems to be lacking in manners though so I hate to bother you with him, but you haven't had many opponents recently and he seems different than the usual trainers who come here."

"Is this his first time battling in a gym?" Sabrina asked with an icy tone as cold as her stare.

The escort looked back to Akuma who nodded his head. "Yes my lady," they replied turning back to her.

"I will not battle with inexperienced trainers. Remove him at once."

"You stupid gym leader trash," Akuma said with a scowl. His escort turned to look at him in shock. "You expect so little from someone and want so much. How do you know what experience I've had? You underestimate me too much for your own good."

The escort looked back at Sabrina with wide eyes. "I apologize Lady Sabrina. He doesn't know his place. I will remove him at once." The person removed a pokéball from inside the sleeves of their robe. "Come with me. I will escort you out of the building."

Akuma pulled off one of his own pokéballs in reply. "You will not."

"Lady Sabrina has ordered you to leave. I will not ask you again."

"I do not obey your 'Lady Sabrina' and I will not leave."

"Then you leave me no choice." His escort opened his pokéball releasing a fat yellow biped Pokémon with a long nose and sleepy eyes. "Drowzee, put this man to sleep so we can escort him from the building."

Akuma opened his own pokéball to place Scyther on the field. "Cut that Drowzee down," Akuma told it. Scyther sped toward Drowzee as Drowzee began waving its arms in a hypnotic pattern. "Evade," Akuma commanded. Scyther flew straight upwards avoiding Drowzee's hypnosis attack. "Divide to conquer." Akuma's Pokémon split into five Scythers which confused Drowzee.

"Spread your hypnosis across the lot of them!" the escort commanded.

Drowzee began waving its arms again, but the Scythers split off and flew erratically around the room. Drowzee couldn't keep track of any one while they flew because of Scyther's incredible speed.

"Cross split," Akuma said again.

The Scythers dove to the ground and flew toward Drowzee from five different directions. Before the escort could react, the Scythers each flew past Drowzee and swung a blade through it. Drowzee was knocked down after having taken the slash attack at full power. Seeing that Drowzee was no match for Scyther the escort recalled it into its pokéball and sent out a Pokémon with a gray body that appeared to be wearing a red headpiece and pants.

"Medicham, meditate then use bide," the escort told his Pokémon. Medicham floated above the ground with its arms crossed and closed its eyes.

"Scyther, power up and prepare to strike," Akuma told Scyther. The Scythers landed on the ground and swung their blades in a swords dance then took a fighting stance as they used focus energy. As the battlefield took a temporary moment of quiet Medicham could be seen building up power as it used bide. "Hold your ground Scyther," Akuma commanded his impatient Pokémon. Soon Medicham released a blast of power in a sphere around it, but since Scyther had not yet attacked and bide required the user being attacked to work the move failed. "Finishing move."

"Mind reader and fire punch!" the escort commanded.

As each Scyther charged Medicham with incredible speed Medicham leapt up with a burning fist. It turned toward one of the Scythers and punched it hard. The copies disappeared as the punch struck the real one, but Scyther ignored the pain as best it could and continued the attack. It used an upward slicing X-scissor attack that hurt Medicham as badly as it had been struck by the fire punch.

"Press the attack. Arial strike," Akuma told Scyther.

Scyther was winded, but followed commands as it leapt into the air once more. It created a swirling ball of wind between its blades and flung it toward Medicham who had still not gotten up again and was an easy target. The air cutter attack tossed it like a rag doll across the gym floor.

"Get up Medicham! Don't quit!" the escort urged. But Medicham was already unconscious. The escort returned Medicham to its pokéball and produced yet another combatant. This time it was a Pokémon that was obviously female. It had long golden hair, a red dress with gold trim, and purple skin. Akuma hadn't seen it before, but working off what he'd fought so far he assumed it was another psychic type Pokémon.

"More double vision Scyther," he told his Pokémon who managed six copies this time. "Mix it up." Scyther started running circles around its opponent making it harder to target the real one.

"Jynx, spread your powder snow to slow it down." the escort said. The psychic Pokémon loosed a flurry at the running Scythers. Since Scyther was running in a constant direction the snow easily hit it. Even though it didn't do sufficient damage to bring down the copies like Medicham's fire punch had, it slowed Scyther's speed considerably. "Well done, now use a perish song." Jynx sung a haunting tune and the Scythers looked toward Akuma for instruction as they continued to run. Akuma pulled out a stopwatch from a vest pocket and started the clock.

"Touch of darkness," he said as he studied the clock. Scyther closed the distance as Jynx continued to sing and struck with a night slash. The escort ordered another powder snow and Jynx blasted a group of fake Scythers as it continued its song. "Simplicity," Akuma said, still not looking up from the stopwatch. Scyther repeated the previous maneuver, but this time used a normal slash attack. Immediately Akuma pulled Scyther back into its pokéball and put it back on its hook. The escort showed a look of victory, but it turned to shock when Jynx collapsed.

"How could you tell when Jynx's perish song would take effect?" the escort asked.

"Experience; which is something you and your Pokémon apparently lack," Akuma said as he pulled another pokéball from his chest strap.

"Enough," Sabrina said before the escort could respond. "I will fight him. He does not appear to be unskilled." She stood from her chair and walked down the stairs to the battlefield. Akuma in turn took the opposite side keeping his eyes locked with hers the entire time he moved. The escort took position as a referee on the sidelines.

"A two Pokémon battle with no time limit," the escort announced. "Each side may switch between Pokémon whenever they wish, but no more than two may be used. Are the trainers in agreement?" Sabrina nodded her head once as Akuma switched out the pokéball in his hand. "Begin the battle!"

Sabrina and Akuma threw their pokéballs at the same time. Akuma revealed a dark blue Pokémon with wispy flowing hair that floated in the air and wore a shining red necklace. It eyes were yellow with red irises and the ends of its hair also ended in red highlights. The Pokémon consisted of not much more than a single head with a small neck. Sabrina's Pokémon had much more presence than Akuma's had. Hers was a yellow humanoid Pokémon with fox-like features. Its torso was colored light brown and the lower half of the body turned into a bushy tail near the end. In its right hand it held a large spoon and its head was decorated with a red star.

"The first battle will be between Sabrina's Kadabra and Akuma's Misdreavus. Begin!"

"Disable," Sabrina immediately told Kadabra. Kadabra's eyes flashed and Misdreavus became immobilized.

"Electric blast," Akuma countered. Misdreavus released an unavoidable shock wave attack across the battlefield toward Kadabra.

"Teleport," Sabrina ordered. Kadabra vanished before the shock wave struck and reappeared in front of Misdreavus bypassing the attack altogether. "Use psybeam." Kadabra released colored rings of light from its eyes at Misdreavus who was still pinned down by the disable attack. The attack struck home causing Misdreavus to flinch in pain as the psychic waves attacked its ghost body from the inside.

"Lock it down Misdreavus," Akuma said with no worry apparent in his voice despite Misdreavus taking such a strong attack. Misdreavus glared at Kadabra with a mean look attack preventing Kadabra from escaping. With both Pokémon immobile they were completely vulnerable. Kadabra couldn't teleport away and since Misdreavus was already affected by the disable attack, vanishing into the air like most ghost Pokémon do would be pointless since it would still be in the same spot. "Now give it a dizzy spell." Misdreavus' body flashed with a confuse ray leaving Kadabra dazed.

"Kadabra, use psybeam again," Sabrina commanded. Kadabra obeyed, but the psybeam attack went wide and left it wide open for Misdreavus to hit.

"Essence blast," Akuma said. Misdreavus' necklace began to glow and a dark mass of energy appeared in front of it in the form of a shadow ball attack. "Release at full power," Akuma said confidently.

"Kadabra, use reflect!" Sabrina called to her Pokémon, now realizing the danger it was in. Kadabra created a barrier in front of it in preparation to block the attack. When Misdreavus had built up enough energy it sent the shadow ball flying toward Kadabra. The ball passed through the defensive barrier Kadabra had set up and knocked it halfway across the battleground. As Kadabra flew, Akuma noticed Misdreavus become less tense.

"Wrong move," Akuma told his opponent. "Shadow ball isn't a physical strike. It's a long distance attack."

"Kadabra has not yet learned light screen. It was all we had available to us," Sabrina said. "It doesn't matter though, Kadabra can still battle and win. Use recover." As Kadabra got on its feet again the wounds on its body began to fade away.

"Shock it Misdreavus!" Akuma snapped almost before Sabrina had finished speaking. Misdreavus charged Kadabra and slammed into it with an astonish attack. The strike shocked Kadabra into halting its recovery as well as surprising Sabrina. Before she could recover as well Akuma said "Finish it quickly. Blast it hard and fast." Misdreavus created another shadow ball once more and fired it before it was at full strength. Though it wasn't as powerful as the first one had been, it still knocked Kadabra unconscious.

"How could you move?" Sabrina nearly yelled at Akuma. "We had you held down by disable!"

"When shadow ball first struck it broke the hold Kadabra had over Misdreavus," Akuma explained. "I noticed, but waited for the right moment to have Misdreavus move again."

"Apparently I misjudged you," Sabrina admitted as Kadabra was returned to its pokéball.

"Join the club," Akuma replied with an almost joking tone.

"I'll have to use a more active Pokémon it seems." Sabrina released another Pokémon with the appearance of a cat that wore a red gem in its forehead and purple-pink fur covering its body.

"Oh not an Espeon," Akuma groaned. "I hate fighting those things."

"Bad experience?"

"You could say that. It was a memorable fight to say the least." In truth Akuma's last battle against an Espeon had lasted for over twenty minutes and in the end there was no winner since Espeon's trainer had collapsed from the strain of using a psychic Pokemon. "Let's just get this over with," he said.

"Espeon, use future sight," Sabrina instructed. Espeon raised its forked tail into the air and looked very tense, but sat back down after a minute appearing to have done nothing.

"Not a bad strategy," Akuma said in approval. "I know what future sight does though, so I can predict as well."

"You'll forgive me if I try anyway," Sabrina replied. "Assault Misdreavus with your psychic attacks." Espeon's body glowed with a light blue aura and Misdreavus glowed soon after. Misdreavus began to be tossed around the room as Espeon willed, having been trapped in the attack and unable to escape.

"Misdreavus, share the pain," Akuma called out. Misdreavus began to get healthier as Espeon suddenly grew weak until both Pokémon were equally exhausted by use of the pain split attack Misdreavus had used.

"Espeon, set Misdreavus up for the future sight." Espeon dropped Misdreavus onto the ground appearing to give it a chance to recover, but Misdreavus was immediately assaulted by a psychic blast that came from nowhere as future sight struck. Akuma could only watch and wait while his Pokémon took high levels of damage and could not be recalled into its pokéball. When the attack finished Misdreavus was shown to be incapacitated. Akuma recalled Misdreavus into its pokéball.

"Been a while since any of my Pokémon fainted, but to be fair it's also been a long time since Misdreavus has fought."

"What do you think your chances of winning are now?" Sabrina asked him.

Akuma looked carefully at her Espeon. It was sitting up tall and proud and seemed in perfect physical condition. However it was breathing heavily and its tail was drooping which showed signs of exhaustion. He thought through the Pokémon he'd brought with him and went over what attacks he knew Espeon to have without special training. "Well assuming you've trained Espeon by normal standards I'd say my chances are pretty good."

"Do you have a Pokémon that could withstand a beating of that degree that destroyed your Misdreavus?"

"Yes, but I don't need to use them." Akuma pulled a yellow colored pokéball with black trim from his strap. "The way I figure, I can beat Espeon with my weakest combat Pokémon that I have on me."

"That's a bold statement. Will you be able to back up those words?"

"Just watch me win," Akuma said with confidence and a smirk as he tossed his pokéball forward. After the flash of light cleared Sabrina stared at the Pokémon Akuma claimed would defeat her Espeon. It was a purple Pokémon with eyes like diamonds and a red gem in its stomach. It stood less than two feet high and had sharp claws on its hands as well as a wide toothy grin. When it appeared it started bouncing up and down while waving its arms wildly and made sounds like it was laughing. "Okay Sableye, stop the theatrics and get ready to make the first move," Akuma said with a sigh. Sableye ran out toward Espeon but after a short distance it tripped and fell. Sableye crashed face first into the ground and lay there without moving. Akuma put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "So much for being energetic," he muttered under his breath.

"Your win seems to have passed away. Espeon, tackle it back to its trainer," Sabrina commanded. Espeon charged the diminutive Pokémon at high speed, but before it could connect, Sableye jumped up and slashed its claws across Espeon's face. Espeon veered away and started rubbing its face with a front paw. "What just happened here?" Sabrina said in shock once more.

"Sableye used a fake out attack. It always strikes first and stops other Pokémon from using their first attack against it," Akuma explained. "Now continue the attack with your night shade." Sableye growled and black energy beams flew from its eyes and hit Espeon. The damage wasn't critical, but still hurt.

"Espeon, fire a psybeam at Sableye," Sabrina commanded. Espeon fired a psybeam from its eyes in much the same way Kadabra had, but Sableye didn't even flinch at the attack. "Try a tackle attack now." Espeon ran at Sableye again but passed through it as if Sableye wasn't there. "What's going on? I thought you said that was your weakest Pokémon?" she asked Akuma.

"I did, and it is. But you've forgotten to think of what types it could be. Sableye is a dark type Pokémon which negates any psychic attacks you'll try on it. Its second type is ghost which ignores most physical moves. Unless you've given Espeon special training it can't touch Sableye."

"There is still one option I haven't tried yet. Espeon, use your sand attack to reduce Sableye's accuracy." Espeon turned its back to Sableye and started kicking up dirt and dust toward Sableye. Akuma watched and waited until Espeon had finished. "If Sableye can't attack or be attacked then this match is a draw. We will need to use another Pokémon to end the battle," Sabrina stated confidently.

"Sableye, attack Espeon with whatever you've got until it falls," Akuma ordered. Sableye leapt at Espeon and started clawing at it with a direct hit every time. Before Sabrina could ask, Akuma explained what was happening. "Sableye has a trait called 'keen eye' that keeps its accuracy at peak performance. You can't beat Sableye with Espeon. For your Pokémon's health you should give in."

Sabrina's face paled as Espeon took hit after hit from Sableye without even trying to fight back. She opened her mouth many times to give another command, but they were all useless against her opponent. Finally she held out a pokéball and pulled Espeon back inside. "I… concede defeat," she said in a dejected voice.


	11. The Mystery That Is Akuma

**This could be my last update for a while as my internet has been sabotaged, but I'll still do what I can.**

**I'm not comfortable with the title of this chapter and I've changed it multiple times. The one I kept the longest was "Akuma the Hunter" but maybe this chapter is too broad to label in the first place. I probably set up too many plot points in this chapter, but I'll have them solved by the end of the story for sure. Also I recently figured out that there is another definition for the word escort which could make the previous chapter weirder and funnier. To that I say: Screw you and your political correctness. Enjoy the freaking story for what it is.**

The judge declared Akuma the winner of the match as he recalled Sableye, who was bouncing around happily, back into its pokéball before approaching Sabrina.

"There was nothing you could have done. You did the right thing for Espeon's sake," he told her.

Sabrina kept her gaze downward. "How could I lose so easily against someone who has never even obtained one gym badge?" she said to herself in defeat.

"In truth this isn't my first gym battle," Akuma told her. "However my last gym battle was years ago so I knew it wouldn't matter to you if I made mention of it. Gym badges have had little interest for me these days and I have only recently been given a reason to win them."

"What reason is that?"

"Control and power."

Sabrina looked up with wide eyes. "What?"

"Gym badges give the holder power that cannot be obtained otherwise. Right now is when I need what gym badges can give me."

"You're already a very strong trainer. How could you become stronger than this and what would you do with such strength?"

"It's not enough for what needs to be done. Just leave it at that," Akuma said cryptically. "In any case, I won the match." He held out his hand for the badge.

"Yes… I suppose you did," Sabrina said hesitantly. She pulled out a golden round badge from her coat pocket and placed it in Akuma's open hand. She lingered before releasing it and turned her head to look away from Akuma after he had taken the badge. "What badge will you take next?"

"I don't know all the properties of the badges yet," Akuma replied as he examined the metallic object between his fingers. "I may only need one or two more if this one doesn't work."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Just keep it on my person. That's all I need to do with it if I heard correctly. I'll ask Akashi about badges later on if I get the chance."

"Is that the name of your teacher?"

"Akashi's learning from me actually. I just got another tag-along that made me his mentor and unofficial rival as well."

"Do they know about this?"

"My collecting gym badges? No. I don't see any particular need to tell them if it won't affect them. Any other questions before I leave?"

"How did you get so strong?"

"I ate my vegetables."

"Stop joking please."

"I practiced a lot, traveled a lot, did research on my Pokémon, and try to overestimate my opponents whenever I can."

Now Sabrina looked up out of the corner of her eyes at Akuma with mild curiosity. He had already pocketed the badge and was now locking eyes with her. She didn't turn her head away this time and his stare made her feel strange for some reason. "Why didn't you call your Pokémon attacks by their given name except for Sableye?"

"I'm keeping my opponents and their Pokémon from predicting my next move. I do special training with my Pokémon so we know what moves get what names. I give different moves different names when I can as well so the opposing trainers can't listen for the same commands every time. Sableye is still young and I don't use her for battles all that often so we haven't got the commands down yet except for fake out."

"One more question: why do you seem so familiar?"

"I'm probably just one of those faces or you had a crush on me in grade school."

"Unless you schooled in Saffron I doubt that last one."

"I didn't and the first option is a recurring trend so assume that to be the case. I assume you have no more questions?"

Sabrina turned her face more directly towards Akuma now to get a better look at him. "I'm sure I've seen your face somewhere before."

This time it was Akuma's turn to take a closer look at Sabrina. "Perhaps we ran into each other somewhere briefly, but I don't see what you see. I haven't been in this gym before today and I usually pass through Saffron rather quickly when I am here."

"Very well then. You may take your leave."

"I have a request of my own before I go: can you leave my name off the records for those who won at this gym? I'd like to keep my anonymous state among trainers if at all possible."

"I can allow for that," Sabrina said with a nod. "It was a real pleasure meeting you and battling with you, Akuma."

"Okay, I give up. Explain to me how you and your escort have known my name since I came in."

"Most of the people in this building, myself included, are psychics in addition to psychic Pokémon trainers. Mind reading is not wholly uncommon"

"Not the most moral of abilities, but it makes sense. Well for the record, I enjoyed meeting you as well, Lady Sabrina. Whatever you plan on doing in the future, make sure you do your best at it. Until we meet again, goodbye." With a nod Akuma turned around and walked out the doors to the hallway.

Sabrina watched him go, then walked back to her chair and sat down leaning forward apparently in deep thought. The judge came over to her after a moment.

"What's wrong my lady?" the judge asked her with a concerned voice.

"Akuma. A very interesting person," Sabrina said to herself as if she was in a trance. "Despite what he said I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before. His battling style is superior and had very little room for error. There was something different in his eyes too. I wonder what that was…."

"My lady?"

Sabrina looked up as if she'd just noticed the escort. "I'm sorry Chandra; I didn't mean to ignore you. Can you bring me the video recording of the match please? I want to look it over."

"Yes my lady, at once."

"Also see if you can figure out more about Akuma and those he said he was traveling with. That may help me to learn… some things."

"As you wish my lady. It shall be done."

Chandra left the room leaving Sabrina alone to her thoughts. She sat back in her chair and tapped a finger on one of the arm rests. A light smile escaped her lips as she sat by herself in the battle room. "A very interesting person indeed. I wonder if he'll realize in time that I could also sense when he was lying."

After Chad had fainted the match was stopped and Kurishimi took him away to rest. Elekid didn't go back inside its pokéball so Kurishimi let it stay out to keep an eye on Chad. The girl he had battled earlier had also been concerned so Kurishimi allowed her to follow them. Finally Chad opened his eyes and saw the girls standing over him while Kurishimi waved the map as a fan to keep him cool.

"Where are we?" he asked when he felt good enough to speak.

"Not far from the battle zone," Kurishimi told him. "You can still hear it once you feel yourself again."

"Your Elekid was worried too," the other girl told him. "It's been standing by you for a while now. It almost didn't let us help you away from the crowd because it was so protective."

"Where is it?" Chad asked as he tried to sit up. He felt his vision begin to blur as he attempted to do so however, and had to lie back down again.

"Careful Chad, you've been down for a while," Kurishimi told him. "You can sit up, but be careful about it."

"Riiiiiight," Chad said as the buildings danced in circles around him. "Okay, second round." He sat up more carefully this time and felt his shirt sleeve being tugged. He looked over to see Elekid tugging on his shirt. "I'm fine, Elekid, thanks for looking out for me." Chad stood up cautiously and made sure he wouldn't lose his head again. "Where are we going next, Kurishimi?"

"I was thinking we could check out the marketplace. Sometimes there are specially trained Pokémon for sale at some stall vendors. We might get lucky and find some good ones."

"I know where you can find those places," the girl said. "I can take you there and not get you lost. There are sometimes street vendors in the middle of the road in the market areas too so if you follow a regular city map you could get lost easily."

"That would be much appreciated," Kurishimi said with a friendly smile.

"My name is Julia, and I already know your names so we can skip that bit if you want."

"We'll gladly take your help if you don't have anything else you'd rather do."

"Nope; as long as I get home before bedtime I don't have anything to worry about. Do you need to be somewhere?"

"We are meeting with our teacher at the northwestern Pokémon Center later today. I want to be back there by sundown if possible."

"No problem. We'll hit the Skitty Street marketplace first and if there's time I'll show you the vendors on Grey Road when we head toward the center."

"He isn't really the kind who likes waiting for people though," said Chad who was now holding Elekid on one of his shoulders. "Are you sure we'll make it back in time?"

"Don't worry cutie, just leave the navigation to me," Julia said with a wink as she led the way down the road.

Chad stared at her back for a minute before following. "I can't help but wonder when the last time was this girl saw an eye doctor," he said to himself as Kurishimi stifled a laugh.

Akuma wanted to test the power of the marsh badge, but he would have to wait for at least another day before he could do so. He was supposed to pick up the pokédex upgrade outside the Silph Co. building in a few minutes then wait for Akashi at the Pokémon Center to install it for her. He also planned to do some personal shopping today if he had time. Chad had his test tomorrow and Akashi would probably find something to occupy her time as well. He would do his experiment then if he could manage it. When he got in range of the Silph Co. building he saw a familiar man waiting for him near the corner of the building.

"Do you have it?" Akuma asked when he came in range.

The man pulled a metal case the size of a finger out of his pocket. "Got it right here. Did you bring the Tyranitar?"

Akuma handed over the pokéball with the Tyranitar he'd taken the night before as the man gave him the pokédex upgrade data. "It seemed to obey its trainer well so it's been either specially trained or broken. Have Fuji take a look at it when you get back and let me know what he thinks of it."

"Fuji's on leave. He went to Fuchsia City a week ago to speak with the warden there. Apparently there was a problem in sector three with a flock of Dodrio."

"Wasn't the same ones as last time I hope."

"No, they left the Safari Zone a few months back. This was more of a territorial dispute I believe. Was there anything else you needed me to take care of before I left?"

"Have you found any more information on the rest of the Sinnoh or Hoenn pokédex upgrades?"

"We've found someone willing to transmit more Sinnoh data to us who claims to have the numbers you want. Naomi says she knows some people that might have the last bits of Hoenn as well. We still haven't been able to get a hold of Professor Birch unfortunately."

"At this point I think we shouldn't put in the effort. It's faster to get what we need in our own way at this point."

"I agree. Where should I be ready to meet you next time?"

"My group is spending time in Saffron for a while; they need some relaxation for a little bit and I can make some extra money from the job Skyler gave me last night. After we finish our work here we might go to Celadon City if Fuji is delayed. I'll call you at the normal time when I'm ready to leave."

"You make it sound like the girl isn't the only one with you anymore."

"She's not. I picked up a younger tag-along when I was finishing my work with Bill. He's learning from both of us for a few weeks and if he isn't making progress I'll send him off."

"It's unlike you to make a deal like that. What brought that on?"

"I don't know, but it's a waste of time to think about it. There's nothing else I need to do; did you have anything else you wanted to add?"

"Just that we still don't know where to find the first and fifth Pokémon for the cherish squad. We were looking toward the Seafoam Islands but didn't have any luck. We heard about the Tyranitar carrier too and we'll work to get to him. Also I finally managed to find the portable trading system you wanted. I left the key in the lock. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Thanks for your help Dawson." Akuma took the metal case then turned away from the meeting spot and melted into the crowd. He'd given his contact a signal by calling him 'Dawson'. Since shortly after leaving the Saffron gym he'd felt like someone was following him. His contact would double back after he had gotten enough distance and keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. He tucked the case under his arm and put the upgrade in his pocket. After he was sure 'Dawson' had come back and was following him he entered a store that he knew. He looked at the person at the counter who nodded knowingly at him before Akuma continued walking into the backroom. Employees looked up at him, but made no move to hold him back as he made his way through to the backdoor and out into the open again. Knowing he was free he went back to the Pokémon Center's trainer room and opened the case for inspection.

Chad, Kurishimi, and Julia stared intently at the Pokémon list that the stall vendor was selling and checked their money.

"How much do you have Chad?" Kurshimi asked.

"Looks like I have over seven bucks. What's your account?"

"Twenty-five for me. If we pool our money we could get a Mr. Mime, but I don't want one. The only one I'm interested in is the Pinsir, but I should probably wait before buying."

"I want that Cubone but I'm short by just one buck. Can we come back later after I get some more money?"

"Sure. We'll figure something out for you."

"One Pikachu please!" Julia called out. She handed over six dollars in cash and picked out a Pikachu from the group. The stall vendor put Pikachu in its pokéball and handed it to the smiling girl.

"Why do you want a Pikachu?" Chad asked her. "Pikachu are kind of mean sometimes."

"Oh that's easy, Pikachu are cute!"

Chad stared at the bubbling girl. "Well that's reason enough to buy one," he said in a dry voice.

"Isn't it though?" giggled Julia who hadn't caught Chad's tone.

"Let's look at some other stores," Kurishimi cut in. "Maybe we can find something else."

They continued looking around the market area and found some useful items meant for trainer use as well as general merchandise. While Kurishimi and Chad looked around, Julia kept smiling at her pokéball. After a long time of looking around, Julia took them to the next market she'd mentioned and the three looked around some more. This time Julia did some further browsing of her own as well. After Chad disappeared in a pile of Pokémon reference books Julia finally started talking directly to Kurishimi.

"Hey, hey, why didn't you battle at the arena?"

"Oh, I'm much too experienced to have been fighting in the amateur section. Chad needed the experience so I got him into one."

"How experienced are you?" In response Kurishimi pointed to the three gym badges pinned on her hat. "Oh, that's definitely not amateur level. So you're a battler then?"

"You got it."

"What about Chad?"

"He's still a young trainer. We're getting him his license tomorrow. Actually that reminds me that he needs to study for his test soon. We'd better cut the tour short and head back now."

"Well okay, I guess I'll take you back then."

It took some effort, but the girls pried Chad from the books and made their way back to the Pokémon center. Chad gave the nurse Rattata's pokéball and Julia handed over her Tyrogue. Kurishimi went back to the lounge where she found Akuma in front of a small open metal briefcase. She went over and saw a machine inside both halves. It appeared that Akuma was figuring out how it worked.

"Well what is it?" she asked finally.

"This is a portable trading system similar to the larger trading machines you see in busy areas and some Pokémon relevant areas. This one is more convenient for people who do a lot of trading."

"So why do you have it?"

"I checked some Pokémon evolution groups and we may need this in the near future to help our Pokémon reach their final evolutions more easily."

"How does a trading machine help?"

"Do you want to wait one hundred years for your Onix to evolve into a Steelix?"

"I think I'd like to still be alive when that happens."

"Exactly. If we can acquire metal coating and apply it to your Onix then pass it through the trading system we can evolve it much faster. It's similar to using a stone, but it has much less effect on the Pokémon's mind and personality… usually."

"What?"

"Evolving Magmar into Magmortar through a trading system makes it much more confident and aggressive. Poliwhirl into Politoad pushes characteristics toward friendly and playful while a Poliwrath evolution gives it a fighter's spirit. Clamperl to Huntail creates a more aggressive predator and a Gorebyss evolution keeps its good natured personality if not enhancing it more."

"What's a Clamperl?"

"A Hoenn specific Pokémon. That reminds me; I got another upgrade for your pokédex involving Hoenn Pokémon. You've gotten general information so far, but this upgrade has most of the more obscure species so you'll be much more informed. Hand me your 'dex and I'll install it for you."

Kurishimi handed Akuma her pokédex as he pulled out the smaller case he'd acquired earlier. He opened it up and a small microchip was revealed. Akuma removed a piece from the side of the pokédex then pulled out a tray with various chips already in place. He removed an older chip before carefully replacing it with the new one. He placed the old chip back into the metal case and pocketed it again, then put the tray back into the pokédex and turned it on. He browsed through the information to make sure it was still working correctly and had accepted the new info without losing any old data. When he was satisfied he handed it back to Kurishimi.

"You've got most of them now. The last half of the Hoenn-dex is still unavailable but that will be the toughest part to acquire. Unless you get really lucky, or unlucky depending on the circumstances, you won't need the last bit I would think. Still, I'll keep trying to finish it off for you if I can."

"You seem to know what you're doing," Julia said. Akuma looked up to see the girl staring in admiration. "How do you know so much?"

"Experience," Akuma said with an almost unnoticeable touch of disgust in his voice that only Kurishimi caught.

"You did that really fast and got it working on your first time too. You know a lot don't you?"

"I try."

"Are you her teacher?"

"To some degree I am."

"Not very talkative are you?"

"Is there a point to this conversation? If so please get to it."

Julia looked at Kurishimi who motioned for her to go pick up her Tyrogue from the front desk. As she left, Kurishimi apologized to Akuma for the unwanted attention while he gave her an icy glare.

"If she ends up following us too, I'm ditching all of you," he told her.

"I think she's staying in Saffron still. I expect you'll only have to put up with her until we leave the city. And if she does follow us out, please let me take care of her. She's too impressionable to deal with your rejections."

"No more tag-alongs," Akuma simply said. "In any case, I don't have anything else I need from you today. I'm going to leave the city for a while."

"You're leaving by yourself? Where are you going?"

Akuma pulled out a white pokéball from his vest. "Hunting."

Kurishimi raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since I was in a Hoenn cave."

"For your Misdreavus?"

"No, my Sableye."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you had that one. Do you know what you're going after, or is this a general hunt?"

"I have a specific target in mind."

"Good luck then."

"Based on the number of sightings, I'll need all the luck I can get."

"Oh wow. I hope you get what you're after then."

"I won't come back until I do." With that Akuma walked out of the Pokémon center. It would be a long time before Kurishimi saw him again.


	12. Test Day

**Again, I apologize in advance. This time because this chapter, to me, is very boring. I stopped writing five times before I had finished the second page even and this was the first time I got writer's block. Or the chapter where I got it multiple times to be honest. I dislike having to put this up since it's dull, but I tried to rewrite some interesting-ness into it somehow. And chapters like this have to happen from time to time anyway in most stories I read, so here we go. I think this is the only one of its type at least.**

For the rest of the day after Akuma left, Kurishimi and Julia helped Chad study for the Pokémon Trainer's test. Chad learned a lot from the girls and the booklet he'd been given to study was a big help as well. He learned about evolution, type matchups, special abilities, and even some Pokémon from world legends. He got a lot of studying done and wanted to do even more but Kurishimi eventually convinced him to get some sleep. Julia left when it got dark but said she would come back to wish him luck before he took the test.

The next morning she was waiting outside the Pokémon Center for the pair and walked with them to the testing area. On the way Kurishimi and Julia asked Chad various questions from the night before. Chad still missed a few, but got the majority of the answers correct. Kurishimi even gave him some questions he hadn't studied for and he surprisingly got a few of those correct as well. At the testing area a supervisor came to take Chad to the testing room by himself while Kurishimi and Julia waited for him in the main hall.

In the testing room Chad saw a handful of other students who were also taking the test. The rules for the test were explained and paper tests were handed to each participant. Chad did well in the first half, but slowed down in the later sections. He hadn't been able to finish studying all the available material in such a short time however; leaving him to guess at the proper answers during the latter half. In the last ten minutes he had to rush through the final questions and even then there were a few that he left blank. When the tests were collected the students were given a second test where they were supposed to answer questions based on their own opinions. Chad enjoyed this part of the test since there seemed to be no wrong answers, but they later became more difficult as well when it got into a trainer's personal relationships with their Pokémon. Once again Chad was struggling for the answers, but still managed to finish the test before time was up and even had time to add some final thoughts to any answers he felt were incomplete. When those tests were finally collected they were taken outside for a practical exam. There they were instructed on how to handle and care for Pokémon of different types while their tests were being graded. It wasn't counted for their test scores, but provided the upcoming trainers with a feel for all 17 Pokémon types. Chad found that he especially enjoyed the rock, steel, and ground types, but had a problem understanding ghosts and dragons so he spent more time with these two instead of his preferences.

After the group had been outside for a short time he noticed Kurishimi and Julia were watching him from the door. He waved them over and told them how he felt about the exam before introducing them to the Pokémon he was becoming familiar with.

"This Pokémon's a dragon type named Dratini and this ghost type is named Shuppet," he told them. Dratini was a blue serpentine Pokémon with eyes as its only facial feature, and Shuppet was a black floating head slightly smaller than Misdreavus with only eyes and a head horn. "I don't understand these two like I do the other Pokémon types, so I'm going to spend more time with them than I do with the others. I heard that dragons are really rare though and I don't know how you could hit a ghost with a pokéball so I don't think I can catch them."

"Well in that case you should ask Akuma about ghosts," Kurishimi said as she started petting Dratini. "I know Akuma's caught a few ghost types so there must be a way. Besides, I'm sure that since they're Pokémon they've got to be catchable. All Pokémon can be caught with a pokéball."

"All Pokémon? Are you sure?"

"I can't think of a reason why one wouldn't be."

"Well I've heard about some really, really powerful Pokémon that are supposedly the strongest Pokémon alive. They were even around before other Pokémon existed."

Julia, who was sitting on the grass with a long eared dog-like creature on her lap named Eevee, perked up at the sound of those words. "What kind of Pokémon are they? Can there really be Pokémon like that?" she asked with genuine interest.

"Well I don't know if they're still alive to be honest," Chad admitted. "But I don't think you could catch a Pokémon like them in a regular pokéball."

Kurishimi was silent in thought and had stopped petting Dratini so it went back to Chad for attention.

"What's wrong Kurishimi?" Chad asked her as Dratini jumped in his face for more attention.

Kurishimi pulled out her pokédex and started to search through the data. Finally she stopped and read through what she'd found, and then turned the dex so Chad and Julia could see the picture. It was a pink Pokémon appearing like a cat with a long tail and long feet that stood erect. Kurishimi pushed a button so the pokédex would read back the information audibly.

"Mew, the New Specie Pokémon. So rare, it is said to be a mirage by experts. Only a few people worldwide have seen it. Experts believe it may be the ancestor of all Pokémon."

"I think this is one of those legendary Pokémon," Kurishimi said. "I saw it once at Mount Moon. I didn't know what it was then, but I looked through my pokédex that night in order to find out. Akuma saw it too when it healed me from the effects of a poison sting attack."

"It doesn't look very strong," Chad said in disbelief. "Are you sure that little thing is a legendary Pokémon?"

Kurishimi pressed the button for additional information so the 'dex would explain further details. "It was thought to be extinct until recently when more and more people have seen it. Its DNA is said to contain the genetic code of ALL Pokémon so it can use all techniques at will."

"Works for me," Julia said with a nod.

"Yeah, I'm convinced now," Chad said in agreement. "I've only seen pictures of it before but I didn't know much about it. So if you saw it then I guess it wasn't a mirage after all and it's living right here in Kanto too."

"That's right. Akuma was too shocked to move and I could barely turn my head as I was. I wanted to try catching it, but it got away before I was fully healed. Now I'm glad I didn't get the chance because I'm sure my Pokémon would have been completely destroyed from the battle or whatever you'd call the willing massacre I might've subjected my Pokémon to having. I wouldn't have been able to catch my Ekans that day if they'd all been beaten that badly. Do you know of any other Pokémon legends, Chad?"

"Oh yeah! I know another one that might be in the Kanto region too! I saw a blue and silver Pokémon that was shaped really long like a stretched bullet with tailfins that went through my front yard one morning."

Kurishimi searched her pokédex quickly as Chad gave her the information, but couldn't find any entries. "I'm sorry Chad, but I'm not finding any Pokémon like that. It could be a new discovery though. You might have found something interesting."

"That or he was still groggy and saw an Altaria or something," Julia said.

Kurishimi quickly found Altaria's entry in her pokédex and showed the picture to Chad.

"No, the one I saw was much longer and didn't have any feathers. It was really awesome to look at and it flew away so fast I couldn't follow it."

"Have you seen any rare Pokémon Julia?" Kurishimi asked.

"Can you find a picture of Lugia?" the younger girl requested.

Kurishimi did her routine again and found a picture of a majestic silvery white Pokémon that looked to be a cross between a bird and a dragon. "Is this it?" she asked the younger girl.

"Yep. I haven't seen it personally, but I think it looks pretty."

"Way to kill the momentum, Julia," Chad groaned as Kurishimi shook her head with a light smile.

Just then the test instructor approached the group and told them it was time to display the test results. Chad suddenly felt nervous and didn't stand up until Kurishimi and Julia started dragging him toward the door. When they got inside they quickly searched the displayed scores for Chad's name and found that he'd passed the test with an above average score. The group happily ran to get Chad's new identification. Chad received a silver blue trainer's ID card with his name and trainer identification number printed on it. He was disappointed that he'd not gotten a high enough score for a pokédex like Kurishimi had, but was happy to be recognized as an official trainer anyway.

After receiving his license Kurishimi had him create a Pokémon storage system account. Chad had already planned to have his Pokémon automatically transferred when he exceeded his limit so he wouldn't be overwhelmed by carrying too many Pokémon at once. After he finished setting up his account and personalized the system to his preferences, Kurishimi took him outside again to a small clearing on the grass.

"Okay Chad, now that all the official and boring stuff is over I'm going to see how much you actually know with a friendly battle," she told him.

"What? But you're a lot more experienced than I am!" Chad said in a panic.

"Don't worry, I'm going to use Pokémon that I recently caught and haven't trained much. We'll do a double battle too so you can learn how to think faster."

"What's a double battle?"

"A double battle is when two people use two Pokémon at a time to battle each other," Julia explained. "As long as both trainers agree to the terms, the Pokémon League in every region has authorized double battles as an official way of battling. It also lets younger Pokémon get in some battle practice with a veteran if they need the experience."

"Okay, let's do it!" Chad said with a nod.

Kurishimi threw two of her pokéballs and Ekans and Abra appeared in front of her. Chad looked at the two as he tried to figure out his own strategy, then released Nidoran and Wooper, the second of which started bouncing up and down after it appeared.

Chad sighed. "Are you going to do this every time, little blue?" he asked, to which Wooper spun around while it bounced and chanted its name in a sing-song voice.

"I guess an energetic Pokémon is a healthy one anyway," Kurishimi said with a raised eyebrow. "Is Little Blue going to be Wooper's nickname?"

"Huh? No, I just called it that. I never understood why some people nickname their Pokémon."

"It's for when trainers feel a closer bond with their Pokémon and they want to give it a special name," Julia told him. "For instance I want to call my new Pikachu Jelly Bean."

Chad looked away from his Wooper and stared at the other girl. "Jelly Bean?" he echoed in disbelief.

"What's wrong with calling my Pikachu Jelly Bean?" Julia asked with a pouty face.

"Lemon I can understand, but Pikachu looks nothing like a jelly bean. I'd go with Zap-Rat."

"Lemon is a wonderful name!" Julia said as she started to bounce up and down like Wooper which got the Pokémon to dance even more excitedly. "Instead of Jelly Bean I'm going to call it Lemon because Chad suggested it himself!"

Chad made a weird face before looking back to the battle. He saw Kurishimi making a face he couldn't read. "What do you want?" he asked in a voice that sounded very much like Akuma's.

"Nothing at all," Kurishimi said with an equally confusing tone. "Actually while I'm thinking of it, I believe Akuma has a nickname for at least one of his Pokémon too. He calls him 'Big Red' which, now that I think about it, is very similar to what you just called your Wooper. Though he switches between nickname and species name a lot so I don't know whether that counts as an official nickname."

"Are we talking about Charizard now? I don't remember ever hearing him use that name before."

"No, it's a different Pokémon and probably his meanest."

Julia yelped in surprise. "You mean that mean guy at the Pokémon center last night has a Charizard and a Pokémon even meaner? That's scary!"

"What's the big deal about Charizard?" Chad asked.

"Charizard don't like to obey their trainers," Julia told him with a frightened expression. "They're often known to even attack their trainers with their flamethrower attack. I can't imagine a Pokémon meaner than that..."

"Can we please start our battle now?" Kurishimi asked. "Our Pokémon are getting bored with themselves."

"Wooper looks just fine to me," Chad said, motioning to his still dancing Pokémon. "Why weren't you that excited when I caught you earlier? Anyway, yes I'm ready, though your Abra looks like it's gone to sleep."

"It always does that. Let's start this thing already! Ekans, attack Wooper with a bite attack. Abra… do something!" Ekans moved towards Wooper who had finally stopped dancing when it heard Ekans approaching.

"Wooper, um… use water gun, and Nidoran, you tackle Ekans!"

Nidoran ran towards Ekans as Wooper fired a water gun. At Kurishimi's command Ekans slid backward disrupting Nidoran's aim and instead of hitting Ekans it ran into the water gun spray. Abra hadn't even twitched.

"Okay, so double battles are a little more complex than I thought," Chad said to himself. "Nidoran, use horn attack on Ekans, Wooper fire your water gun at Abra."

This round turned out to be more successful. Nidoran drove its horn into Ekans' side and Wooper's water gun didn't come close to Nidoran this time. For that matter it didn't even come close to Abra. The psychic Pokémon teleported away from the water gun before it struck and reappeared a few feet away. While Kurishimi praised her Pokémon's good senses Chad concentrated his attacks on Ekans instead and left Abra for later since it hadn't shown itself to be any real threat yet. Nidoran pressed the attack while Wooper provided ranged support as needed with its water gun. Ekans was overwhelmed by the two on one assault while Abra sat peacefully off to the side. Kurishimi hurriedly pulled out her pokédex and did a faster search on Abra to find a way for it to help out while managing to still give orders to Ekans. Chad saw that he was winning and cheered his Pokémon on to which Julia joined in. Kurishimi rushed through Abra's attacks as best she could with divided attention, but found nothing more than she had before other than teleportation. Finally Ekans successfully struck Nidoran with a bite attack and when Nidoran flinched away from the attack Ekans wrapped itself around the smaller Pokémon and squeezed it tightly. Wooper helped out with another water gun which seemed to begin working, but Ekans quickly recovered from the hit and bit Nidoran while it was wrapped up. The best Nidoran could do was kick and struggle since every attack it knew required free mobility. Eventually Wooper couldn't fire its water gun since Nidoran might be hit as well and Abra would just teleport away. Now on the winning side and having time to think, Kurishimi ordered Abra to teleport above Wooper. When Abra reappeared it crashed into Wooper with a force equal to a body slam, but considering the way Abra moaned afterwards it seemed like there had been some recoil damage as well. Now at point blank range, Chad quickly commanded a water gun attack from his Wooper that successfully struck Abra briefly before the other Pokémon could teleport away. After Abra teleported to safety the rest of the water gun attack even kept going to spray Chad in the face comically. Meanwhile Nidoran was on its last breath as Ekans continued to squeeze even tighter. The tides changed, Kurishimi was going to win this battle unless something happened, which it did.

As Nidoran began to succumb to the suffocation it suddenly flashed brightly and its body glowed with a bright shining light. Ekans released its grip and backed away leaving Nidoran to collapse to the ground. Chad panicked as the glow became brighter and Nidoran's form warped into a larger mass with more pronounced features. When the glow dimmed, Nidoran had changed dramatically into a more vicious looking Pokémon with more pronounced fangs and strong legs. Otherwise it looked very much like the Nidoran from a moment ago, but obviously it wasn't.

Kurishimi pointed her pokédex at the once-Nidoran and pushed the audio button for Chad to hear. "Nidorino: the poison pin Pokémon. Its front horn is harder than diamond and secretes a powerful poison. If it senses hostility the barbs on its back bristle up and it challenges its opponent ferociously."

"Hey Chad, your Nidoran evolved," Kurishimi told him, "and I don't think Ekans can wrap it as well anymore."

Now it was Chad's turn to imitate Wooper who was, unsurprisingly, dancing once again. "Nidoran… wait, Nidorino now, use your horn attack on Ekans again!"

Nidorino slammed its horn into Ekans who was still waiting for an order from Kurishimi and knocked it out instantly. Then both Chad's Pokémon turned to face the Abra and charged it. While Wooper technically wasn't a physical attacker it seemed to be caught up in the moment and was imitating Nidorino.

"Abra, if you've got any ideas I'd say you should use them now!" Kurishimi called out frantically.

Abra reacted to its trainer's call, but not in the way anyone expected. Its left hand flashed yellow while its right hand shone a light blue. As Nidorino and Wooper came within range Abra hit Nidorino with its left and Wooper with the right. Nidorino fell backwards as electricity arced across its body and between the barbs on its back. Wooper bounced away and was knocked silly. It tried to stand up straight but eventually fell over.

"Um, what just happened here?" Julia asked after a moment of silence.

"I have no clue," Kurishimi said. "It certainly wasn't a teleport attack. What did you do, Abra?"

"Rahhhhhh. Abra, Abra," it said with a raspy voice.

"I didn't get a word of that," Kurishimi said. She checked her pokédex and looked through Abra's possible attack list again. "Wait, here's something. Abra can learn an electric attack called thunderpunch if it has certain parents. That might be the attack that hit Nidorino. I don't know what the other one was though." She put Abra back in its pokéball and Chad did the same with his Pokémon. "Anyway, that was a good practice battle and you have a Nidorino now Chad. We should go back inside the testing area now so you can get your new Pokémon."

"What new Pokémon? I didn't know anything about that," Chad said in confusion.

Julia beat Kurishimi to the explanation again. "When people successfully pass their trainer's test to receive their license they are also issued a basic starter Pokémon from that region. Even if you already have Pokémon with you it's like a tradition to give a Pokémon to trainers that can be very easily tamed and raised. That way you always have a reliable Pokémon to fall back on for support. In most cases they become that trainer's best friend as well."

"I was asked to keep you occupied for a while since the Pokémon weren't ready yet," Kurishimi admitted. "I thought that I could figure out your strengths easiest by a simple battle and we could get our weaker Pokémon some training as well."

"I hope there's a good Pokémon waiting for me in there," Chad said thoughtfully. "What did you get as your first Pokémon, Kurishimi?"

"A family friend gave me an Eevee that ended up evolving into Vaporeon. Since Eevee are sometimes offered in cities as a starter Pokémon when the traditional Pokémon are unavailable I didn't have any need to choose one."

"I got Squirtle as my first Pokémon," Julia cut in. "It's so cute and fun to play with!"

"I know, I was there when we battled," Chad reminded her. "What about Akuma?"

Kurishimi thought for a moment. "Well I don't know if he got his license in the Kanto region, but if he did then he would've gotten a Charmander. I can't imagine how that must've worked out for him since they're so difficult to train and even more so after evolution. If he didn't get Charmander then his Infernape may have evolved from the Sinnoh region's fire type starter, Chimchar. I don't know if he has any other Pokémon that could be considered regional starters so I suppose he prefers the fire types."

"Are there any other Pokemon or just those two?"

Kurishimi opened her pokédex again and showed Chad a picture of a blue four legged Pokémon with a plant bulb growing out of its back. "This one is named Bulbasaur. It's a grass type Pokémon that's very calm and easy to train. I think that was Akuma's last choice if I know him as well as I think."

Chad rubbed his nose as he considered the trio then nodded decisively. "Okay, I know which one I want now. Let's go get my new Pokémon."


	13. Discoveries

**There's a reason there was a huge gap in between updates. I've been halfway across the country. Fortunately I've been able to do a lot of writing and editing, so there might be another chapter up later today.**

The trio of trainers was taken to a back room where two men were waiting for them. Between the two was a small table with three pokéballs resting on it. On each pokéball was an elemental symbol on the top half. Chad stepped up to the table and the two men congratulated him on his passing the Pokémon tests before introducing themselves.

"My name is Professor Samuel Oak," said the older man. "And this is Professor Elm from the Johto region. We raise Pokémon that are handed out to newly qualified Pokémon trainers such as yourself."

"Actually I've been training Pokémon for a little while already, but I just got my license," Chad admitted to the professor.

"Is that so? Well may I see what Pokémon you have then?"

Chad released all his Pokémon for the older man to look at. Oak carefully examined each of Chad's Pokémon and smiled when he came to Elekid. "This one is especially well cared for young man. I'm impressed that a new trainer could do so well."

"To be honest, that Elekid wasn't really mine. A man named Bill on Cerulean's cape gave it to me," Chad confessed.

"Did he now? Then that makes you even luckier, doesn't it? Well you still qualify to receive a basic starter Pokémon so feel free to take any one you want. There's a catch though: since you already have six Pokémon with you, you will need to put one into storage before you get a new Pokémon. Since I take care of most of the Pokémon trainers acquire on their journeys I will be happy to hold one for you."

Chad crouched down next to his six Pokémon to address them directly. "Okay guys, it sounds like one of you is going to get some R&R for a while. Do any of you want to take a break?" Rattata quickly stepped forward and Chad nodded in agreement. "Okay then, in you go Rattata," Chad told it as he returned it to the pokéball. He stood up and handed it to the professor then looked toward the three pokéballs on the table.

"Do you already know about the Kanto starter Pokémon?" Professor Elm asked him. Chad nodded so he continued talking. "The symbols on the pokéballs are a leaf for Bulbasaur, a flame for Charmander, and a drop of water for Squirtle. Go ahead and take whichever you want."

Without hesitation Chad grabbed the pokéball with the leaf symbol on it. "I'm interested in raising a Bulbasaur," he said confidently. He heard a sigh behind him and looked back at the girls. "You say something Kurishimi?"

"No, nothing," Kurishimi said with a tiny smile.

Chad was unconvinced but turned back to thank the professors. "How should I raise my Bulbasaur?"

"Your Bulbasaur is a grass type Pokémon so it can absorb nutrition with the bulb on its back," Oak told him. "It's a good idea to feed it regular Pokémon food every now and then of course too. Grass types are easy to train and most of the time are very mild mannered, but in a pinch they are also very reliable and Bulbasaur is an especially loyal creature. Some of the Bulbasaur I've given to trainers have been trained so well they even beat fire type Pokémon that they have a disadvantage against. To take care of Bulbasaur let it outside its pokéball when the sun is bright and let it get some fresh air. The rest should fall into place for you."

"Thank you again professors. I'll do my best to raise Bulbasaur correctly." Chad turned to face his other Pokémon and proceeded to open Bulbasaur's pokéball.

The little grass type appeared facing the other Pokémon and quietly looked them over. Elekid and Wooper greeted Bulbasaur by tackling it in a group hug. Bulbasaur was quiet and let them greet it in their own way then walked over to the other three. Sandshrew extended a hand to which Bulbasaur produced a vine from beneath its bulb and shook 'hands' with Sandshrew. Nidorino stared down at Bulbasaur and the two locked eyes for the longest time before Nidorino smiled and lightly touched its horn to Bulbasaur's forehead. Then Bulbasaur came to Ponyta who towered over it. Bulbasaur quickly became nervous at the sight of the flames on Ponyta's mane and tail, but Ponyta reared up playfully and brought its head down to Bulbasaur's level. Bulbasaur backed up nervously and Ponyta respectfully stepped back to give Bulbasaur some space.

"That went better than I expected it would," Elm commented. "I expected Bulbasaur to either attack or run out of fear with Ponyta, but your Bulbasaur seems to be exceptionally calm. That'll make it a good battler if it can keep a level head when things get tight."

Finally Bulbasaur turned around to look at Chad. It walked over to him and sat down a foot away. Chad crouched down to get a better look at Bulbasaur and rubbed its head. "It's nice to meet you, Bulbasaur. I hope we make a good team."

Bulbasaur made a comfortable growl and used its vine to rub Chad's head in the same way. Chad stood up and returned his Pokémon to their pokéballs. "Hey Kurishimi, do we have to go meet Akuma somewhere today?"

"He went Pokémon hunting outside the city yesterday and won't be back until he gets what he wants so we don't have plans for a while. Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to let him know I passed my test is all."

"Excuse me," Professor Oak cut in, "but that name sounds familiar. You said your friend's name was Akuma?"

"That's right," Kurishimi confirmed, "but calling him a friend sounds a little too friendly I would think."

"That name sounds awfully familiar. Have you heard it before, Elm?"

"Yes, but I can't place where exactly," Professor Elm said after a moment of thought. "Maybe it'll come to me later."

"We should go Chad. You and Bulbasaur need to train together," Kurishimi told him.

"You're right. Bye professors, and thanks again."

The trio walked outside and saw a late afternoon sun with a cloudless sky. The breeze felt nice and after the events of the day Chad felt very proud of himself.

"Hey Kurishimi, can we go back to the battle areas again? I want to try to get enough money for a Cubone today," Chad asked.

"Absolutely. I'd like to try some battles myself," she replied with a nod.

And so, for the rest of the day the trio exercised their Pokémon in the battle zones throughout Saffron City. Despite Kurishimi's guesses Chad and Julia did not have a rematch, but fought very balanced battles against multiple other combatants. There was a nearby Pokémon Center too so the Pokémon were always in top form and ready for battle provided they weren't too worn out.

At the end of the day Chad had 5 wins and 2 losses, Julia, who was more excited about her battles, racked up 6 wins and 1 loss, while Kurishimi had 4 battles and won them all. Chad used Bulbasaur in one battle which it won fairly easily, but since it was a new fighter that was all it could handle for the day. When they were done Chad counted his winnings and found he had enough to purchase a Cubone so they went back to the stall vendors to buy one.

Kurishimi picked out a healthy Cubone which Chad quickly bought, but just seconds after he put it back in its pokéball after introducing himself, the pokéball vanished with a flash.

"What happened? Where did Cubone's pokéball go to?" he asked in a panic.

"Cubone was your seventh Pokémon so it was transferred to the storage system. Kurishimi explained. "Whenever you catch, buy, or in any way acquire a new Pokémon, and you set your trainer account to do so, it gets automatically transferred to your holding account. It'll be safe there until you contact whoever is holding your Pokémon and ask them to switch out one of your current Pokémon for one in storage."

"That's disappointing," Chad said dejectedly. "I wish I could carry more Pokémon with me than just six."

"But if you had more Pokémon it might be real tough to take care of them all," Julia told him. "Six Pokémon is the most suitable number for trainers to manage. I can't imagine anyone being able to take care of seven Pokémon at a time, much less be allowed to. Hey, are you okay Kurishimi?"

Kurishimi's mind had drifted back to Akuma and his seventh pokéball. She'd been staring blankly at nothing and hadn't noticed. "Yeah I'm fine. I just spaced out for a minute."

"Thinking of your 'teacher'?" Julia asked with a giggle.

"Yeah I was. How did you- Wait, what? No! I mean, yes I was, but not in that way. I mean… okay I'm just digging myself into a deeper hole now I think."

Julia laughed at Kurishimi's embarrassment. "That was quite the innocent reaction, girl. Are you sure about your answer?"

"Quiet you! You don't know how I feel about him! I mean, ARGH!"

Now both Chad and Julia were laughing as Kurishimi's face turned a light shade of pink. "You aren't really helping yourself anymore Kurishimi," Chad said when he found his voice.

Kurishimi turned away and pretended to examine the Pokémon at the stall again. "Why don't you tell us about _your_ crush Julia?"

Julia's laughter stopped abruptly. "W-What crush? What makes you think I have one?"

Easily distracted from Kurishimi's embarrassment by Julia's evasiveness, Chad turned his attention toward her instead. "What's this? Do I hear a hint of nervousness in the young lady's tone? Methinks she has a secret to tell."

"No I don't. I never said I liked a boy."

"Well at least we've established that you don't have a crush on a girl. That's a good thing."

"Of course he's a boy! He's certainly not girlish at all!"

"So there _is_ one after all I see."

Behind Chad's back Kurishimi pointed a finger at him for Julia to see. "Gee, I wonder if I know the unfortunate guy."

Now it was Julia's face that turned a light shade of red. "I don't see why you would think I would know the answer to that question," she said more carefully. "Anyway, who do you like Chad?"

"No one that I know of, but you're not getting off that easily," Chad told the poor girl. "Now tell us about him. Does he have any Pokémon too?"

"I don't wanna!" Julia wailed. "Just let it go already!"

Chad and Kurishimi both laughed, but she was laughing more at Chad's cluelessness about the whole thing.

"Okay Julia, I'm done. It's getting late; do you think we should get dinner soon? I'm hungry," he asked Kurishimi.

"Sure. I saw a good looking place on our way here. It'll be a good change from the standard Pokémon Center's rations. Let's go eat."

Night was coming quickly. Akuma released Misdreavus and Scyther on either side of him then held Dodrio's pokéball in hand.

"As soon as the sun disappears on the horizon we'll hear the pack howls again," he told them. "Let me know right where they are."

He raised his binoculars and scanned the western Saffron plains for his target. Last night he'd only heard the Houndour from a distance and even with Dodrio's help he hadn't been able to even catch up to the group before dawn, much less see them. He checked the sun's position again and saw no more than a twinkle above the forest.

"Give me an exact location Misdreavus," he told his ghost partner.

Misdreavus stared forward at the expected location waiting for the cry of the pack. Scyther was twitching in anticipation as it anxiously awaited its partner's signal. The moment the sun's last rays disappeared, the howls from the pack sounded. Instantly Misdreavus screeched and looked west by southwest. As Scyther bolted down the road Akuma opened Dodrio's pokéball and recalled Misdreavus to its own. He spurred Dodrio onward after Scyther. The three followed Misdreavus' direction until they heard the howls again and shifted their stride toward the south. Minutes later they heard the howls again, much closer, and quickly found the pack.

On command from Akuma, Scyther charged the Houndour, cutting through the pack. Three Houndour fell to the attack and the rest were quick to use a combined flamethrower in Scyther's direction. Akuma provided cover by sweeping past the pack while Dodrio struck at each one with a damaging peck. Now the pack split their attention to Akuma while a handful of Houndour kept their focus on Scyther. Dodrio couldn't avoid the attacks so Akuma put it back in its pokéball while it ran. He fell to the ground and dropped another ball while he rolled forward. Immediately the Houndour trained their flamethrowers on him. Akuma threw another ball yelling, "Protection please!" and Metagross immediately put up a light screen defense that shielded them from the fire attacks.

Not even pausing to catch his breath Akuma yelled over the noise, "Give Scyther an opening!" Two more Houndour were tossed into the air from a dig attack caused by the three headed mole Pokémon named Dugtrio which Akuma had dropped off earlier. As they flew up helplessly Scyther appeared again, cutting through both with its blades. When the Houndour were distracted by the double strike Metagross dropped the light screen and loosed its hyper beam into the center of the pack. Dogs flew through the air in all directions. Akuma grabbed two empty pokéballs from the pouch on his side and threw them at two of the more seriously wounded Houndour. Both were right on target, but as the pokéballs closed shut the free members of the pack turned their flamethrowers on the pokéballs attempting to help their members break free. Metagross, Scyther, Dugtrio, and a newly released Misdreavus protected the pokéballs as best they could while the capture devices tried to contain the less fortunate two. When the pokéballs made their signature pinging noise the rest of the Houndour backed off knowing that there was nothing more they could do. Akuma walked into the center carefully and picked up the pokéballs. When he turned to leave however an evolved Houndour, a Houndoom, blocked his path.

"It's just business," Akuma told it, but the Houndoom didn't move. Akuma locked his eyes with the pack leader and stared it down with an equal glare for over a minute. Seeing that the Houndoom would not back down, Akuma sent out Dodrio and Infernape to stand with his other Pokémon. "I'll make you a deal," he told his opponent, "I will release one Houndour if you battle me. If you win I'll release the other Houndour as well and leave you to your business. If I win, you come with me in the first Houndour's place. I will leave behind one Pokémon to train with a single Houndour of your choosing until it evolves and can take over. Either way one Houndour goes free, and I won't bother your pack any more. What's more you will be the one to choose which Pokémon you battle, though I will still give commands as necessary."

With the odds in its favor Houndoom was willing to accept, but was very cautious about who it chose to battle knowing full well how skilled Akuma was when using multiple Pokémon. It was unlikely that he was unskilled in single battles as well. After scanning his visible Pokémon Houndoom pointed its muzzle toward Misdreavus. Akuma nodded to his Pokémon and Misdreavus came forward.

"What Houndour will take your place in the event you may lose?"

Houndoom growled at the obvious lack of confidence, but Akuma said nothing. It looked at one other Houndour finally to acknowledge it then fired a surprise flamethrower at Misdreavus.

Misdreavus was cooked by Houndoom's attack without an opportunity to evade. "Get rid of that attack," Akuma said. After the flamethrower subsided, Misdreavus blew a ghostly wisp toward Houndoom. The wisp encircled Houndoom's head and vanished. "Now taunt it and remove the threat." Misdreavus emitted a short screech and Houndoom started attacking Misdreavus furiously with various attacks. "Vanish!" Akuma yelled. Misdreavus disappeared.

"That was weird. I wonder what I did wrong," Akuma said to himself as Houndoom spread its ember attack around the area. "Oh well, better not try it again. Misdreavus, reappear at 3.5 and share the pain." Misdreavus appeared above and beside Houndoom and used pain split. As with Espeon, it became healthier as its opponent became weaker until they were at the same health level. "Shock it." Misdreavus struck Houndoom with an astonish attack. The hit must have struck a sensitive spot because Houndoom didn't strike back immediately. "Now electrify it." Misdreavus unleashed an electric shock wave on Houndoom immediately. "Go to position Samson and show me your shadow ball strike." Misdreavus vanished again as Houndoom used a flamethrower. Houndoom spun around nervously looking for where the 'Samson' position was. "Anytime you're ready Misdreavus." Misdreavus appeared below Houndoom in between its legs. It formed a fast shadow ball and launched Houndoom into the air. Houndoom had a long fall back to the ground and landed painfully on the hard ground. Akuma commanded a screech attack that bored into Houndoom's skull. As Misdreavus screamed, Akuma produced a black and green pokéball with an orange band from inside his vest and threw it at Houndoom. Misdreavus cut its screeching as Houndoom was sucked inside. Houndoom fought the Pokémon containment for a long time and put up a great fight as was evidenced by the way the pokéball rattled extra hard.

Akuma approached the shaking pokéball and knelt down beside it. Knowing full well that Houndoom could hear him he spoke to it. "This is one of the toughest pokéballs made at this point in time. You're going to need to do better than that. Show me you're the toughest Houndoom in this region. Now fight harder!" The light had been slowly dimming until now, but with Akuma's words the light shone brighter again as Houndoom regained confidence. "Still not enough to win, Houndoom. All you need to do is break free and defeat my Misdreavus. You have the advantage and you're losing. You need to get stronger if you are going to be free. Your pack is counting on you as well." A grinding sound could be heard from within the pokéball as the advanced containment features reached their limits. At this rate the pokéball wouldn't just release Houndoom, it would shatter if it broke free. Akuma smiled at the effort of the Pokémon. If it got out, Houndoom would be the first Pokémon he knew of that had broken out of this pokéball type, but once again the light began to dim. "What's wrong? Is that all you've got?" The light continued to fade. "Are you weak?" It still faded. "So that's it then. You give up." The light disappeared entirely and the pokéball pinged confirmation.

Akuma stayed for a few more seconds then took the ball in his hand. He stared at it as if he could see the Houndoom inside, then pocketed it and returned Misdreavus to its pokéball. He looked back toward his other Pokémon and replaced all but Infernape.

"Alright monkey man, you're going to stay behind and train with the Houndour until it's ready to evolve. After you finish training it, join me and the others in Saffron City. I'll wait for you at the Pokémon Center we lodged in when we first got here. See you there." Akuma released Dodrio and got on. Before he could leave Infernape grabbed his arm. "What is it?" Infernape motioned to the Houndour pack that was growling at him. "Can't take them on your own?" Infernape replied with a stare that said 'You dummy'. Akuma remembered he still had two Houndour on his person. He pulled out one of the quick balls he'd used and released Houndour back into the pack. When it appeared, the flash was not of a white light, but a light neon blue which symbolized that the Pokémon was no longer bound to the trainer who owned that pokéball. "Alright Houndour, you're free again. Help out my Infernape if you want. He's training your new leader."

Akuma spurred Dodrio away from the pack and headed back toward Saffron. He had ventured far away from the normal routes people traveled on to find the Houndour pack and had almost made it halfway to Mt. Moon. He came into a hilly region and saw that the sky was getting darker even though the sun had long since set and a thunderstorm was closing in. Judging by the clouds it was going to be an undoubtedly strong one.

Dodrio's sad face looked back at its rider and chirped mournfully. "Don't worry about him. Infernape's lasted a blizzard by himself before. A rainstorm shouldn't be that bad." It cooed sadly again. "Have a little faith in Infernape. You should've seen what we did in Hoenn together. Come on now; let's try to get through as much of the area as we can before the storm gets too bad. I really hate water."

Dodrio ran onward again into the hills. Akuma checked a compass occasionally to be sure they were still heading in the right direction. Suddenly the storm hit them heavily. It was a torrential downpour that the two of them couldn't even see through. Akuma thought about using Dugtrio to make shelter for them in the side of a hill, but Dugtrio would be weakened by the rain and the shelter would be muddy and unstable. Their only choice was to keep running through the rain. They couldn't outrun it so Akuma steered Dodrio into the storm to get to the tail end quickly. The further they got into it, the more Akuma began to realize the irregularity of the storm. Lightning struck the ground and moved along as if it was carving out boundary lines for territory. The storm clouds were thick and so heavy Akuma couldn't see past the first layer. As they drew closer to the interior the lightning increased in frequency and very nearly struck Dodrio numerous times.

Akuma released Misdreavus and sent it through the clouds. "Look for a Pokémon that might be causing this weather," he told it. Misdreavus returned soon after and reported nothing. Akuma quickly put it back in the pokéball.

When the two of them came over the next hill Akuma saw another irregularity. There were pillars of lightning circling a particular part of the storm. Unlike the rest of the lightning though, this lightning was lancing upward into the clouds. Akuma steered Dodrio toward the pillars and soon he saw the source.

There was a yellow Pokémon resembling a tiger that wore a white mask and had a cape on its back that was creating the storm. The clouds were rolling off the cape and into the sky. Akuma watched the Pokémon run before smiling to himself. "Hey Dodrio, move to intercept. I want to test myself against that Pokémon."


	14. Memories

**I remember that when I first started writing this chapter I started in such a way that I thought would be really interesting, but I got stuck and couldn't get out of it. I deleted two pages of written material and started over.**

It had been almost a week since arriving in Saffron City and Kurishimi was making a name for herself in the battle arena. Chad and Julia fought average battles but Kurishimi had racked up a winning streak nearing the Saffron record in the advanced arena. For the most part there were only casual battlers but every time she began to get bored someone appeared that would nearly end her streak which got her focused again. The three used the battle arena as a daily training ground and also a minor source of income. Kurishimi bought a strong and healthy Pinsir at the stalls while Chad traded in his t-shirt and shorts for a more rugged looking yet casual uniform similar to a forest ranger. Julia seemed to be saving her money as the other two had not noticed any changes in her appearance or Pokémon. However, she had discovered that the Pikachu she purchased earlier had a nasty mood which usually led to someone getting shocked in the end.

This afternoon the group was on their way to the battle arena again but had stopped by a restaurant to get lunch first. Kurishimi had planned to speak to Chad about how his Pokémon's personalities would affect battles, but she couldn't find time to speak because nearby Pokémon trainers that recognized her would always want an autograph or a chance to talk with her.

"That's the tenth person that's come up to me in the same hour," Kurishimi said with a badly disguised tone of disgust in her voice. "If they have so much time to socialize they should practice their techniques and get better by themselves."

"I think the pressure's getting to you Kurishimi," Julia said between mouthfuls of pasta. "Maybe you should take some time off from the arena."

"I can't. This is the best practice I've gotten in months. My younger Pokémon are learning real fast too. It's especially good for them. I wish I knew how to help Abra win more battles though. It hasn't won anything yet."

"You could always battle Chad's Nidorino again."

"Very funny Julia," Chad said dryly after he'd finished taking a drink.

"Just battling the same Pokémon over and over isn't good for training or experience though," Kurishimi told the other girl. "It becomes easier and easier after getting enough practice that the training is similar to walking for you and me. If there's no variety then we can't learn anything from it."

"And yet we have problems walking sometimes too," Chad noted as a six year old boy fell over while running across the room. "I get that the training becomes generally useless after a while, but you can still get taken by surprise and possibly learn something, right?"

"True, but it isn't enough to think about or mention. Better to find new people to practice with." Kurishimi heard approaching footsteps behind her and made a sour face. When they got closer she said, "This had better be important or I'm going to lose my temper."

The person behind her dropped a picture of Akuma on the table. "You know this person?"

"Yes, why?" Kurishimi's hand slid to a pokéball on her belt remembering the last time someone had asked her about Akuma.

"He's been hospitalized."

Akuma was lying in bed either asleep or unconscious, Kurishimi couldn't tell. She hoped he was unconscious because the burns and tears in his skin would have put him in extreme pain if he was to wake up soon.

Apparently Infernape had become separated from Akuma before he was injured and had found him and brought him back to Saffron City. His other Pokémon were equally beaten and were found lying in the immediate area from where Akuma had fallen. Infernape had replaced every one of Akuma's Pokémon into their pokéballs on its own since Akuma's crew had been equally damaged and had been put under intensive care at the nearby Pokémon Center. Infernape had remained with Akuma at all times and had told Kurishimi through Vaporeon that it had hidden Akuma's seventh pokéball as well as two more he had acquired after he left. Infernape had used the Pokémon trainer registry at the Pokémon Center to get Kurishimi's picture and sent someone out to look for her. One doctor suggested that Infernape get some rest in its pokéball, but Infernape changed his mind rather forcefully and hadn't seen the other man since.

Akuma's wounds suggested that he had been attacked by a wild and brutal Pokémon. Doctors guessed the attacks were electrical in nature, but were waiting for test results before deciding how to treat the burns. The fact that all of his Pokémon had been defeated suggested that it was an especially powerful species. He would survive, but his level of recovery was still unsure. Kurishimi had also been called to get information on who should be contacted concerning Akuma because there was no information found on him. Sadly she had no information on him to give, not even a hometown, so the group ended up leaving with more worries than assurance.

"How could you know nothing about him?" Julia asked the older girl. "You've been with him for so long."

"Akuma doesn't like to talk about himself. It took a long time before I even got a name out of him."

"Where did you guys meet at?" Chad asked her.

"In my hometown: Celadon City. It isn't far from Saffron City – less than a day's walk due west."

"Well don't keep us in suspense. How did you meet?" Julia pressed.

A sixteen year old Kurishimi was walking in downtown Celadon looking in every direction as if searching for someone. It was hardly necessary to look around however as this part of the city was all but abandoned. Only the poorest and most desperate people lived in this area. And only the toughest and most cruel Pokémon came out of the alleys to attack someone invading their area. Kurishimi had fought a number of Pokémon ranging from Drowzee to Meowth to Voltorb. Her Eevee and Vulpix were getting exhausted from the constant battling but they kept going.

Finally Kurishimi found what she had been looking for. Her friend's Oddish was unsuccessfully hiding near a pile of garbage. She ran over and knelt down beside it with her Pokémon following.

"Hey Oddish, you shouldn't have wandered off like that. It's dangerous here and Lisa is worried about you," she told the little Pokémon. "I'll take you back now, come on."

Oddish nodded and jumped into her arms. Kurishimi looked around for trouble and started running back to the safer part of the city. She passed a few Pokémon that she had fought earlier who were still licking their wounds and realized it would have been worth it to catch a few when she had the chance. It wasn't a good time now sadly, so she kept running. As her surroundings became more beautiful she smiled as she ran, knowing she was finally safe.

Suddenly she felt herself run into something and couldn't move. She tried backing up, but in vain. She looked around and discovered she'd been caught in the web of a bug type spider Pokémon called Spinarak that had strung its web between the buildings. Eevee and Vulpix had gotten caught as well. Kurishimi panicked and began looking for a way out, but she couldn't even reach her pokéballs. She thought about getting Oddish out at least, but Oddish was pressed between her and the web. She pulled on the web to try tearing it down, but it was too strong. Unfortunately it also attracted the Spinarak that had created the web and it started climbing at her from the side of one of the buildings. Kurishimi screamed as the bug drew closer and her mind went completely blank. She thrashed in the web but only became more tangled. The Spinarak's jaws were opening and closing in anticipation as the vibrations in the web reached it. When it was a few feet away she closed her eyes and hoped it would be over soon.

"Shoot it down!"

Kurishimi heard a whoosh and felt an intense heat blow past her. Her arm dropped to her side, suddenly free from the web's trappings. She opened her eyes and saw the web burning where the Spinarak had just been. There was also a large hole in the web that had allowed her arm to fall away. She used her now free hand to tear the sticky net off her body.

"Rain of fire!"

Again the voice sounded and as it had announced, embers began to fall around her as if the clouds had begun to rain fire. She became more afraid and remembered her Pokémon were both stuck in the web. She dropped the Oddish to the opposite side of the web and pulled out her Eevee followed by Vulpix. Vulpix burned away more of the web when it could and the group ran through to the safe side. Kurishimi turned around to see what had happened and saw a Pokémon that was definitely not native to Celadon City attacking the Spinarak.

The new Pokémon looked like a lizard with a duck's beak that was standing upright and seemed to be made of fire. It had scales on its arms and a thin fiery tail. It was standing at four feet tall and mercilessly attacking Spinarak with fire attacks from its mouth.

"Strike twenty three!"

The other Pokémon struck the Spinarak with an iron tail upon command from someone that was still unseen. The Spinarak went flying into the air before a blue-green colored pokéball with a black pattern shot toward it from somewhere behind the fire Pokémon, connecting at the top of the flight arc. The bug was pulled inside instantly and the capture light vanished before the pokéball hit the ground.

Kurishimi's jaw dropped at the one-sided battle she had witnessed. Her Pokémon stared with equal disbelief as someone appeared from behind the fire Pokémon to pick up the thrown pokéball. It was a young male not much older than Kurishimi. He wore a dark jacket that had seen a lot of use and had a venomous look in his eyes as well as a sour frown of disgust that gave Kurishimi the impression he wasn't a cheery individual. He snatched the pokéball up and turned back to his Pokémon. Kurishimi was expecting him to congratulate it, but that wasn't the case.

The other trainer slapped his Pokémon in the face and yelled at it. "I told you to use a thin flamethrower, not burn down the entire neighborhood, Magmar! You keep up this overkill and I'm tossing you out!"

The Magmar began to roar at its trainer and threw a punch, but the other grabbed its fist and twisted it back so Magmar was leaning to the side, then punched it in the face, knocking it to the ground. "No more acting on your own like that unless I tell you to. Get back in your pokéball." The Magmar disappeared into the pokéball with a scowl on its face.

Kurishimi was in shock again, but for new reasons. It was appalling that any trainer would treat their Pokémon like he was. He started walking in her direction causing Eevee to hide behind her leg while Oddish cringed in her arms. Kurishimi also felt exposed and chewed her lip nervously. He walked past her and didn't pause, but did slow down to speak a few lines.

"Burn the web next time. Use your Pokémon if you get in trouble. That's what you're supposed to do."

Kurishimi let him pass while keeping her eyes to the ground. She could have let him walk away. Instead she turned around quickly and called to his back, "Am I also supposed to beat my Pokémon?"

He stopped and turned halfway around to make eye contact with her. His expression hadn't changed one bit since he first appeared. She felt like he could see into her. "You treat your Pokémon however you feel they deserve to be treated. I treat my Pokémon exactly how they deserve. Don't let your sense of morality or supposed kindness get in the way. They won't get anything done for you."

"But what benefits are there for treating your Magmar like it's worthless?"

"It gets the job done. I don't need to justify myself in your eyes either, so quit spouting your self-righteous speech of love and perfection." With that he turned and walked away once more leaving Kurishimi and her Pokémon with their amazement.

"He didn't leave a very good impression did he?" Chad commented when Kurishimi was done.

"No he didn't. But he did give me a lot of stuff to think about concerning how I did my training. I didn't go as far as he insisted, but I was more determined than I had been to make my Pokémon tougher and stronger. We got stricter and worked much harder. We trained until we were too exhausted to walk home. Sometimes we'd push ourselves farther than that as well and a few times that produced some amazing results."

"What about the other times?"

"We passed out and woke up a few hours later."

"I don't think I'm ready for that level of intensity," Julia said with a nervous smile.

"Neither were we, but we did it anyway. We were miserable at first since we had practiced for not much more than a half hour everyday then suddenly upped the training by a few hours worth. We should have paced ourselves more. Anyway, I'm getting away from the main point. Even when he was just a nameless stranger with a bad attitude Akuma helped me out a lot. If I hadn't met him I would probably still be training in my backyard waiting for some sign that we were ready to face the world."

"How did you two meet a second time?" Julia pressed.

"A story for another day. Let's head to the arenas. Maybe some battling will put us in better moods."

"So true. Nothing like beating up small animals to make ourselves feel better," Chad joked.

"I want to know when you two will finish up your battle. It's still undecided as to who won."

"I don't think I could battle Chad again. We're friends now."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Chad asked Julia.

"I can't battle my friend, it doesn't seem right."

"You'd better stop making friends then because sometimes you have to battle people you know," Kurishimi told her.

"Have _you _ever fought anyone you know?" Julia asked skeptically.

"Yes I have. A lot of times I've fought people I know and even best friends."

"I assume they were all friendly battles like our double battle from before?" Chad thought out loud.

"…Yeah, for the most part they were," Kurishimi said hesitantly.

Julia and Chad looked at each other quietly and no one said anything more until they got to the arenas. Kurishimi started to look around for people she hadn't battled yet when she heard a voice calling out to her. She scanned the crowd until she saw a woman making her way toward her position. The other lady was wearing more formal clothing and had short dark hair. Kurishimi instantly recognized her and ran over.

"What are you doing here, and in the battle area of all places?" Kurishimi asked after giving her friend a hug.

"I was bored in Celadon so I came to see if there was anyone I could fight in Saffron. Don't worry; I left Mary in charge until I get back. I didn't think you'd be here though."

"Akuma said this was our next stop after Cerulean. I got the cascade badge from the gym leader there by the way."

"That's great! Have you tried the Saffron gym leader yet?"

"No, Akuma says the leader here is too tough for me right now."

"Oh, that's a shame. Speaking of Akuma, where is the creep?"

"Lying in a hospital bed in a half dead state," Chad said from behind Kurishimi who felt a twinge of pain when she was reminded of the picture of her beaten mentor.

"What happened to him?" The other girl asked sympathetically after seeing the painful cringe her friend displayed.

"We don't know. His Infernape brought him into the city last night from somewhere," Chad explained.

"He's been unconscious ever since he was brought in." Kurishimi said when she found her voice again. "Infernape has been watching over him nonstop."

"That's not good. Can I see him? I might be able to help."

"We just came from there. Yeah, we'll show you where he is."

Back in the hospital Kurishimi took her friend to Akuma's room. Infernape was reluctant to let them in at first but eventually relented. A doctor told them that they'd been in contact with the Pokémon Center where Akuma's Pokémon were resting and learned that all were indeed suffering from a high level of damage from electricity based attacks. The strangest thing was that all Pokémon and Akuma were attacked by the same Pokémon and not a group. The Pokémon itself was still unknown however as the pattern of damage done wasn't consistent with any native species.

Kurishimi's friend was all business when she spoke to the doctor and asked him for a written document on Akuma's exact physical condition. Chad guessed that she might be a nurse in her own city or at least have a moderate medical background.

When she had finished reviewing Akuma's condition she produced two pokéballs and released them beside Akuma's bed. First was a short Pokémon with a green leafy body and two arms. It had two flowers on its arms in place of hands, one red and the other blue. The second Pokémon was colored a light blue with small red stripes. It had a yellow suction cup on its head and a long flowing tail similar to a wind chime. It floated in the air at about head level.

"Roselia, use your aromatherapy on this person. _Chimecho_, use heal bell."

The smaller grass Pokémon reached out with its arms and a visible odor wafted through the air towards Akuma. The other sang a single note causing sound waves to spread throughout the room. Everyone who heard it but the trainer became amazingly calm at the sound of the tiny Pokémon's voice. The sound waves and sweet scent washed over Akuma and some of his wounds began to vanish while others lessened in intensity. The attacks, if they were attacks, continued for a moment before being ordered to stop.

The group waited silently for any signs from Akuma for a long while. The doctor started to leave but the girl stopped him and said to wait so he stayed. After a few minutes more Akuma's eyes squinted open slowly. He blinked a few times and tried to look around, and then felt the pain as the burnt skin on his neck rubbed against itself. He clenched his teeth and instinctively brought an arm up to his neck which caused even more pain. He writhed in bed as the pain increased and the doctor rushed over to hold him down while calling for help. His mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. Infernape also tried to stop Akuma from moving and spoke quickly, but Akuma couldn't hear either one.

"Roselia, Chimecho, again!" the girl commanded quickly. Again the two Pokémon used their healing abilities on Akuma who calmed down and lay on his side while breathing heavily. Julia rushed out of the room with Chad following her while the doctor explained things to Akuma. Finally they let him go and asked what happened. Akuma stared at nothing for a long while then looked toward Kurishimi by moving only his eyes. Very slowly and carefully he held out a hand as if he wanted something. Kurishimi pulled out different things on her person that she thought he wanted until he took her pokédex. Akuma brought his arm back down and did a slow search with two fingers. Once or twice his eyes shut tightly when he moved too fast, but continued after a momentary pause. When he set it down Kurishimi picked it back up and saw what looked like a yellow tiger with a mask and storm clouds on its back. She pressed the audio playback button to let everyone hear the information at the same time.

"Raikou, the thunder Pokémon of the legendary beast trio. Raikou embodies the speed of lightning and is said to have descended to earth on a bolt of lightning. This rough Pokémon stores energy in its body, then sweeps across the land while shooting off electricity. As it races across the land it barks a cry that sounds like crashing thunder. The roars of this Pokémon send shock waves shuddering through the air and shake the ground as if lightning bolts had come crashing down."

Kurishimi looked at Akuma in disbelief. "You fought this thing?" Akuma managed half a nod. "Did you know what it was?" Akuma stared back at her. "Give me one wink for a yes, two for no." Akuma winked twice. "Why did you try fighting something like this? Legendary Pokémon even _look_ legendary from a distance." Akuma narrowed his eyes at her. "Right, tough question. Okay, was this the Pokémon you were going out to get?" Two winks. "Did you get the one you wanted?" One wink. "Am I annoying you yet?" Two winks. "Okay, I'll keep talking then." Two more winks made Kurishimi leave the room with her friend to find Chad and Julia while the doctor rushed out to find a way to treat Akuma now that the source of his wounds were confirmed.

"Every time I see him he looks so familiar," her friend said after they left the room."

Chad and Julia were sitting a few feet away on a couch in the hall. Julia looked pretty shaken and Chad was sitting uncomfortably beside her.

"He'll be fine now," Kurishimi told the two. "He's resting, and should make a full recovery."

"Couldn't your friend's Pokémon help him get better faster?"

Kurishimi shook her head. "No, they aren't miracle workers. The healing should've helped a lot though, but it's a good thing he didn't wake up when the wounds were worse or he'd still be in pain. Oh, I haven't introduced you yet. These are two friends I met a week ago. This is Chad, a newer Pokémon trainer like me that's going to learn from Akuma and me, while the girl is Julia, a local to Saffron City." Julia, who hadn't said anything up until now gave a weak smile and nodded. She was still obviously disturbed. "Chad and Julia, this is an old friend of my family. Her name is Erika, and she's the gym leader of Celadon City."


	15. Secrets Revealed

**Looking back I think this part of the story is fairly dull. Wounding a character is all fine and good until you realize they need time to recover. Then comes the filler arcs that make us all hate Naruto more. And don't go fan-flaming me about that line; you know it's true.**

"You're friends with a gym leader?" Chad almost yelled while Julia's mouth hung open.

"That's right. She gave me my first Pokémon and taught me long before I left the city. I also got my first gym badge from her, but I still think she took it easy on me."

"I couldn't go all out without dangerously hurting your Pokémon Kurishimi, we both know that."

"You held back too much though."

"If you won I would think that's obvious."

"Back up ladies, I'm still in shock here," Chad interrupted, though he was more careful with his volume this time. "You can't just bring up such a fact and leave it at that."

"Well what more is there to say? You just know what she does now. How is that so different?"

"Kurishimi, you have to remember that other people aren't used to the idea of anyone being casual friends with someone of my status. Allow me to explain, Chad. One of my understudies is friends with Kurishimi's parents. We've been friends for years and she got used to the idea of being friends with a gym leader. Kurishimi if, try to consider someone being friends with an elite Pokémon master you'll get the idea."

"That's a bit more unbelievable."

"Though not much different when you think about it long enough."

"Maybe, but I'll decide later."

Erika turned her attention back to Chad and Julia. "So you two are Pokémon trainers as well, correct? May I see your Pokémon?"

"Yeah! I have six with me right now," Chad said. He took two pokéballs from his belt but hesitated before opening them. "Wait a moment, Akuma told me once that I shouldn't show someone my Pokémon in advance if I plan to beat them someday. You're a gym leader so…"

"Are you planning to battle me sometime soon?"

"No."

"Do you have more than six Pokémon?"

"Yes."

"It's fine then. The Pokémon you use to battle me in the future may very well be different than the ones you're using right now. I'm only curious to see what kind of trainer you are by looking at your Pokémon."

Convinced there was nothing wrong, Chad released Cubone, Nidorino, and Sandshrew for inspection. He explained that Cubone was a purchased Pokémon, Nidorino was newly evolved, and Sandshrew was one of his oldest friends. He thought the variety might help Erika get the best opinion.

"Cubone is putting on the tough guy act I see. Was it like this when you bought it from the vendor?"

"Yeah. It doesn't like to fight a lot unless its opponent looks tough."

"How well do you and Nidorino get along?"

"Surprisingly well. I thought it would act differently after evolving, but there wasn't too much change."

"What can you tell me about Sandshrew?"

"It was one of my first captures and I'd thought it was a rebel like Cubone, but I now think it's actually just very lazy. It's probably the toughest Pokémon I have but it doesn't battle very often because that's not its thing. I'm still happy to have it with me however."

"Very interesting. I wonder what kind of Pokémon trainer you'll become in the future."

"Wasn't learning that fact the point of seeing my Pokémon?"

"Yes, but your talents aren't as prominent as I thought. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you don't have any talent, it's just hard for me to pinpoint your best strengths is all."

"See anything at all you recognize?" Kurishimi asked her friend.

"I'm only guessing, but he might have a major talent that a lot of powerful trainers in the past have had. Again, I'm only guessing so I don't want to say what it is in case I'm wrong. What Pokémon did you choose when you got your trainer's license?"

"A Bulbasaur."

"Huh… if you don't mind could you let me know on occasion how you and Bulbasaur are? I'd like to know how you'll turn out."

"Um, I guess so. Oh, incoming down the hall. Back inside everyone," Chad told his Pokémon as a few of the staff came down the hall in their direction. His Pokémon quickly disappeared inside their pokéballs as instructed. One of the doctors went into Akuma's room.

"Hey Chad," Kurishimi said thoughtfully, "I think you should have a practice battle against Erika. I bet she could teach you a lot of things."

"Uh, I'll pass. She'd slaughter me."

"Oh come now. I'll play nice," Erika said with an unconvincingly innocent smile.

"I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't."

"I'll ask Akuma then since you're unsure."

Chad was about to protest then decided it was probably better to see what Akuma said. Erika went into Akuma's room then came back out.

"He thinks it's a good idea too."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He gave a wink for yes. By the way, he wants to see you Kurishimi."

"How could you tell?"

"He whispered it. Better hurry."

Kurishimi hurried quietly into Akuma's room then ran out a moment later with a paper in her hand. "I need to run to the Pokémon Center to pick up a Pokémon for him. I'll be back soon, stay here." She released Abra onto the floor. "Abra, teleport me to a nearby Pokémon Center." Abra's eyes flashed once before the two of them disappeared.

"I see the girl's got some new tricks," Erika said to no one. "Shall we head outside, Chad?" she said with another smile.

"Ugh. I know I'm going to regret this," Chad said as he walked down the hall.

"Don't worry, I won't use my strongest Pokémon to fight," Erika told Chad when they were outside. "I'll play gentle to see how good you are first."

"That's what Kurishimi said right before creaming me with her weakest Pokémon. Chad said as Julia suppressed a laugh. "And you aren't helping me either," he said with a glare at the other girl.

"I didn't say anything," Julia said casually after looking away.

"I'm still here Chad. Focus on the battle," Erika told him.

Chad turned back toward the older girl. "Right. I'll do my best." Both trainers threw a pokéball at the same time. Erika revealed a green Pokémon shaped much like a bell with a mouth on the underside. On its sides were two large leaves, and on its top side was a brown hook. Its eyes were small and wide – almost comically so. Chad's choice was Nidorino.

"Weepinbell, use growth," Erika told her Pokémon. The grass Pokémon grew slightly in size and seemed to be suddenly stronger.

"Nidorino, don't attack yet. Use focus energy and be ready to evade." Nidorino nodded and calmly prepared itself to attack.

"Weepinbell, use vine whip please." Weepinbell's hook suddenly stretched out a great distance, becoming as flexible as a piece of rope. It whipped the vine toward Nidorino horizontally across the ground.

"Jump quickly!" Chad called. Nidorino jumped the vine and landed closer to Weepinbell. "Tackle it now!" Nidorino ran at its opponent who was still retracting the vine and knocked it out of the air. It looked like it was unable to balance well on the ground so Chad had Nidorino tackle it again. "Great work Nidorino! Now use double kick!" Nidorino jumped over Weepinbell and kicked it back into the air with its hind legs.

"Stun spore attack," Erika commanded. Weepinbell released a cloud of spores from its mouth at Nidorino. The cloud was impossible to evade and Nidorino took the spore blast in full. Some spores stuck to it causing pain and paralysis.

"Nidorino, use your horn attack!" Nidorino ran shakily toward Weepinbell but fell to the ground before it had closed half the distance.

"Vine whip again now." Weepinbell once again lashed out at Nidorino with its vine, slapping it back. Nidorino was healthy enough to battle, but clearly unable to fight effectively so Chad returned it to its pokéball.

This time Chad sent out Bulbasaur. Julia was surprised that he was attacking with such an inexperienced fighter against a gym leader, but she held her tongue and kept watching. "Bulbasaur, charge that Weepinbell with your tackle attack!" Bulbasaur ran toward Weepinbell who tried to disrupt Bulbasaur with a vertical vine whip. Bulbasaur dodged left and right as the whip slapped the ground until Weepinbell used another horizontal attack which Bulbasaur jumped over. "It's a clear shot. Use vine whip! Chad yelled excitedly. Bulbasaur produced two vines from beneath its bulb that shot toward Weepinbell who was still trying to retract its own vine before moving. The vines struck Weepinbell in the face, knocking it to the ground.

Erika returned Weepinbell to its pokéball and sent out her next Pokémon. This one was a tangle of blue vines with two red shoes and two eyes peering out from inside. "That's a lumpy Pokémon," Chad said to himself.

"Constrict his Bulbasaur, Tangela," Erika commanded. Her Pokémon grabbed Bulbasaur with a number of its vines and began to squeeze tightly.

"Bulbasaur, use your growl!" Chad called out. Bulbasaur was gripped too tightly to effectively do so, but it did produce a weak growl attack.

"Vine whip toss then." Tangela whipped Bulbasaur into the air in a small arc, still holding it with its vines. Bulbasaur came back down forcefully into the ground behind Tangela with a crash. "Oopsie. Maybe that was a little too strong," Erika said nervously with a tiny laugh. She was right, because Bulbasaur wasn't able to fight anymore.

Chad substituted Bulbasaur for Cubone next. "Cubone, headbutt attack!" Cubone lunged toward Tangela and hit it with full force. Erika's Pokémon fell back and lost its balance. "Now use bone club!" Cubone began smacking Tangela repeatedly in the face with its bone. It was damaging, but it looked funny at the same time. Julia was laughing on the sidelines, which got Erika and Chad laughing too. Cubone and Tangela looked at their trainers as if they'd lost their minds.

"I'm sorry Chad, but that really killed the moment for me. I think we should stop here for the day," Erika said after she could manage to talk again.

"I agree. That was plenty for me. We're definitely done now." The two trainers put their Pokémon back into their balls while Julia was still trying to recover.

"You seem to have an interesting battle style, Chad," Erika told him when she'd calmed down completely. There wasn't even a hint at the outburst of laughter she'd displayed earlier. "I see that you focus a lot on fast attacks, but you need to think about your defense as well. Remember that your opponent can go on the offensive at any time without any hints before doing so."

"Okay, I'll try to remember that next time," Chad said with a determined nod. "Now it's Julia's turn to fight you."

Up to this point Julia had been giggling periodically, but now her eyes had widened in shock. "Oh no way, not me! My Pokémon wouldn't last more than a few minutes!"

"I think I said something similar back in the hospital? Come on, test yourself!"

"I'm going to go see if Kurishimi's back instead," Julia said before half running toward the hospital.

"Do you tease her like that often?" Erika asked the younger boy.

"I only do when she's being a bother… but she seems to act that way quite often now that I think about it. I suppose if you're here to see Kurishimi we'll have to wait near Akuma's room for her to come back anyway."

Back in Akuma's room Kurishimi had reappeared by his bed. The doctors were gone to prepare for his treatment, leaving the two of them alone.

"How's the pain?" Kurishimi asked him when he turned his head toward the sound of her footsteps.

"I can somewhat talk again it seems," Akuma replied quietly. "Did you get her for me?"

"Yeah, I've got her pokéball right here," Kurishimi said as she showed him a pokéball with an uncommon design. "Can she help treat you too?"

"No, I just want her company. Please, open her pokéball for me."

Kurishimi pressed the release button, unveiling a short pink Pokémon with dark brown ears. It was under a foot tall and shaped like a star with a hair curl on its head. When it saw Akuma on the bed, it showed a worried look and jumped up beside him. Akuma put an arm around the tiny Pokémon with surprising gentleness. "Hi Cleffa, I'm glad you're here," he told the tiny creature. Cleffa gently touched a hand to a burn on Akuma's face. "I'll be fine. It's a nasty burn, but it'll pass in time." Akuma looked toward Infernape who had been sitting in the corner since Akuma had first calmed down. "Infernape, I'll be fine now. Get some sleep; you've earned it." Infernape smiled through exhaustion before immediately nodding off. "He's been awake ever since he first found me I believe," Akuma explained to Kurishimi. "He's completely reached the limit."

Kurishimi pulled up a chair beside his bed. "So tell me, what exactly happened to you out there? I've never met a Raikou, but I can tell a tough opponent when I see them. Seeing it in person you must've realized it was a legendary Pokémon or within that area of power. Why did you start a battle with such a beast?"

"I haven't seen one before now either, and to be honest I didn't even know what it was until I heard the information from your pokédex. I've seen stronger Pokémon too and I guessed it was strong so I wanted to try my hand at a new capture. I underestimated its power unfortunately and was overconfident. I got too excited I suppose."

"Wait, back up a moment. Since when do you of all people get overconfident and underestimate your opponent? If I recall our history together I believe it was you who told me that I should always try overestimating an enemy."

"Like I said, I was - Ouch! Watch that burn please, Cleffa. I got too excited and caught up in the thought of battling. For the most part it tried to evade me which made me think I was its superior, but when it stopped running and turned to fight me properly I got beaten down severely. I made a big mistake right from the start."

"Even so you kept on fighting and you started the battle to begin with despite the obvious power difference. Can you explain that much to me?"

Akuma was silent for a moment. Cleffa and Kurishimi looked at him waiting for him to continue the story. He seemed to be thinking hard about the subject before answering. Finally he said, "Check the hallway, and close the door." Kurishimi looked toward the door but saw no one. Still she rose up and looked out into an empty hallway before closing the door. "Now close the window and curtains." Kurishimi continued to close up the room under Akuma's direction. She even looked inside the bathroom and dimmed the lights. Finally after turning on the TV loud enough so no one could hear them, Akuma allowed her to sit down again.

"So what's the big deal?"

Akuma took a long breath before beginning his story. "Have you ever heard of the Pokémon, Rayquaza?"


	16. Akuma's Encounter

**And finally here's what I think is the first chapter to give a glimpse into Akuma's past. What chapter is this? Sixteen? Good gravy, sure took long enough! I need to put less suspense into my next story. Oh, you probably want to read now don't you? Carry on then~**

"Rayquaza? No, sorry. That's a new one to me." Kurishimi opened her pokédex and searched the name, but no data was found.

"You won't find it in your pokédex. It's a unique Pokémon that lives in the ozone layer above Earth. Think of a giant green snake with an exoskeleton and two short clawed arms that can fly without wings. It's the tallest legendary Pokémon I know of. It comes down from the atmosphere very rarely to rest on top of select towers. It's fiercely territorial and very dangerous. It descends to our level when there is conflict between a certain pair of mythical Pokémon of a catastrophic level. It's believed to be linked closest to the Hoenn region which is why you won't have the appropriate data."

"It sounds both terrifying and magnificent at the same time," Kurishimi said while staring off into nothing as Akuma described it. "You sound like you've seen it before though."

"You're right, I have. In fact I battled Rayquaza many years ago."

"You did what now?" Kurishimi jumped up from her chair, knocking it over and waking up Infernape with her cry in the process. "You battled a legendary Pokémon that rarely comes down to Earth if ever and lived to tell about it? Next thing I know you'll be telling me you matched it equally!"

"Well that's not entirely the case…"

"Okay, that's more believable."

"…actually we defeated Rayquaza."

Kurishimi stared at Akuma in silent disbelief. She tried to say something but her words came out as a stutter. She turned to look at Infernape who only gave a single nod. She stumbled toward the sink in the bathroom and washed her face with cold water. "Say that again?"

"My Pokémon and I fought and defeated the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza."

Kurishimi dunked her face into the water filled sink while Akuma tried to hold back a laugh at her reaction. After composing herself Kurishimi came back to sit in her chair. "Okay, nowhere close to what I expected to hear; even from you. Is that the truth?"

"It is. I don't have the energy to tell you the whole story, but it was necessary to battle it. The fact that we won surprised even me, and my Charmeleon evolved into Charizard in that battle. I think it was because of him that we won too. In the end, my point is that after defeating Rayquaza there's really no reason to expect many losses. I thought that Raikou would have been easier even, but I was wrong. That's why I did what I did, and it's also why I lost. However, there is more experience gained in losing battles than there is in winning them. I'm both disappointed and satisfied in the outcome of that battle. But now, I'm tired. Open the room back up before you leave. I'm getting some sleep if I can."

Kurishimi rose from her chair to readjust the room how it was. Akuma was still awake when she left, but after shutting his door and walking down the hallway she heard a melody coming from Akuma's room. She paused to listen to it, and soon recognized it as Cleffa's sing attack. While not aggressive, the attack was intended to put enemies to sleep. Akuma had probably used Cleffa's singing to help him sleep comfortably. She smiled as the song played, listening to the whole chorus. She was far enough away that the baby Pokémon's singing wouldn't affect her and she could still enjoy the melody. When the music finished she continued on her way down the hall. Entering the lobby Kurishimi found Chad, Julia, and Erika coming back inside.

"Hey all, how did it go?" she asked happily.

"Erika wiped the floor with us," Chad told her, "but technically Cubone ended the battle."

"You're kidding. Cubone's a ground type and Erika specializes in grass Pokémon. How did Cubone beat Erika?"

"To tell the truth, the way Cubone used its bone club against my Tangela was so funny we could not continue battling," Erika clarified. "How is the burned one?"

"You mean Akuma? He's sleeping right now fortunately. Infernape's getting some overdue rest as well. That's especially good because it seemed extremely tired. It's getting late anyway so we should go back to the Pokémon Center. Will you be joining us, Erika?"

"Sadly I cannot. I must return to my gym before nightfall. While I was unable to participate in the combat arena I did get to battle young Chad and I did some good for Akuma as well. Supposedly there is a new Pokémon species coming to the gym tonight from Hoenn that I haven't encountered before as well that I plan on raising. It was a shame that we couldn't spend more time together Kurishimi, but I'm happy that I got to see you again."

"Hey Erika!" Chad called as she was leaving. "When I get stronger we'll have a rematch and I'll beat you for sure!"

Erika turned to look at the younger boy. She stared at him gently as if sizing him up before giving a gentle smile and a nod then gracefully left the building.

"You'd think she was royalty by the way she walks," Julia noticed. "She moves so elegantly I sometimes thought she was a princess."

"Erika's family and upbringing is very high class. She was raised this way by her family and it still shows despite her toughness. She's a great example of what gym leaders should try to be like," Kurishimi told the other two.

"What were you doing when we were battling?" Chad asked as they left the building.

"Akuma wanted me to pick up a Pokémon of his. As for why he needed it, that's probably his business and I shouldn't say. Well that's enough delaying for today. Let's go to the arenas finally!"

That night the hospital was quiet with only a few staff members on duty. The room where Akuma was sleeping hadn't changed since Kurishimi left. The three figures were fast asleep in the same positions since Cleffa's song had ended. Every now and then someone would walk by Akuma's door and the footsteps would cause Infernape to peek open one eye, but other than that there was nothing happening.

Some time after midnight there was a single bell chime that opened both Infernape's eyes. He looked around for the source but the ring didn't come again. Infernape closed his eyes to go back to sleep but the sound came again; this time much closer. He opened both eyes just enough to see the room but still appeared asleep to any who might have seen him. The next ring came from within the room and there was a soft pink glow of light from an undefined source. Infernape shifted slightly trying to still seem asleep but adjusted his footing to be ready to defend his trainer if the need arose. The bell rang three more times, each time increasing the glow within the room. Infernape's fur bristled and his flame became noticeably more excited as he grew more and more restless. At the next chime he couldn't take it anymore and opened his eyes completely to look around the room.

The light in the room was gently pulsing with a soothing glow but Infernape wouldn't let his guard down. His mouth was twisted in a scowl as he searched for the source of the disturbance. The bell had stopped chiming but the glow remained. Infernape stood up and quietly stepped across the room looking all around. Finally he noticed a disturbance in the air above the foot of Akuma's bed. It was a shimmer in the air like a spot where the air wasn't. It had a feline shape and tiny features except for a long tail almost double the length of what appeared to be its body.

Upon recognizing the intruder, Infernape's flames flared up and he growled menacingly. While fire attacks would be dangerous in a small room and could possibly hurt Akuma, Infernape was also a talented fighter. Judging by size he could probably overpower the little creature and hold it down until he knew why it had come into the room.

He swept a hand up trying to grab it and the creature expectedly dodged away quickly to the other side of Akuma's bed. Cleffa and Akuma were still asleep so Infernape had to be cautious in his movements. He quickly hopped around the bed and grabbed at it again letting it dodge back the way it had come. Now Infernape gently jumped toward the wall and pushed off it, vaulting over Akuma's bed toward the air distortion. He grabbed at it frantically while it dodged and missed, but as he fell he slapped it down toward the ground with his tail. Not allowing for recovery time, he rolled toward it and landed with one foot over it. When he came upright he clamped a hand down where he assumed the neck was.

"Naaaaaape fernin," He growled at the creature quietly. Though all Pokémon had their own language, each Pokémon could easily understand each other. What he was really saying to the intruder was, "State your business and be quick!"

The other squirmed at first then stopped when Infernape began talking to it. In its own language it responded with, "I came to help."

"Help with what?" Infernape asked roughly. "Did we call for you? If not, who sent you?"

"No one sent me, Infernape. I knew this person was badly injured in a battle with Raikou."

"So you just came to help him of your own free will? What kind of Pokémon are you? Untamed Pokémon don't help humans so freely, at least none that I've met." The little creature responded by dropping its camouflage to show itself. It was indeed a feline figure, but the only features on its head were short stubby ears, a tiny mouth, and large blue eyes. "I see; Mew is it? Why are you helping him?"

"Why not? Akuma may not show it, but he deeply cares for and respects Pokémon as well as life in general. Knowing what I am, you shouldn't be surprised that I also know what he's done in the past as well. He's certainly made some mistakes, but he's just what Kanto needs at the moment. I want him to be ready and healthy for the future."

"And what future might that be?" Infernape asked cautiously.

"Now I can't very well tell you that my dear. It would spoil the surprise."

Before Mew could continue, the two of them heard a pained voice from behind. "Infernape…" Turning his head, Infernape saw Akuma with half opened eyes looking in his direction. The pain seemed to be worse because Akuma spoke as if out of breath. "Let Mew go. It's not a threat." Infernape loosened his grip slightly, but didn't completely let go. "Mew… is not a threat to anyone. It came here… for a reason. Now release it."

Reluctantly Infernape rose up, releasing his grip from Mew's neck and stepped off. Mew floated back into the air to eye level with Infernape. "If I was a threat, I could have used my powers to incapacitate you from the beginning anyway," Mew told its assailant.

"Just heal him," Infernape told it, ignoring what Mew had told him, "but I'll be watching the whole time."

Mew hovered over toward Akuma's bed and the two of them began to glow as Mew began curing Akuma's body of all the damage Raikou had done to him. Cleffa, now awake, was watching the two of them as well with fascination. The burns quickly disappeared, but the two continued to glow for a good 20 minutes while Akuma's internal damage was mended as well. Infernape soon became agitated, not knowing why Mew was still staying since he couldn't see anything, but a gesture from Akuma calmed him down again.

When Mew was done Akuma was resting more comfortably with a rare and gentle smile. "Thanks Mew. You seem to appear at just the right times. No offense, but I hope you won't have to come back a third time."

Mew giggled and turned back to Infernape. It bowed its head in farewell and teleported away leaving the room dark again. Cleffa hugged Akuma's shoulder nervously; somewhat afraid of what had just happened. Infernape still appeared angry, but had still noticeably calmed its temper. Akuma quickly fell asleep after Mew disappeared. Having suddenly been cured of all pain had the effect of making him very relaxed very quickly. Cleffa joined him shortly thereafter, as it was still a baby and needed to sleep. Infernape however sat in the same chair as before and didn't sleep for the rest of the night. While genuinely happy that its trainer had been healed, the intrusion still made it uneasy.

The morning of the day after, Chad and Kurishimi were quietly sleeping in the Pokémon Center. They'd planned to take this day off to rest and hide from the pursuing fans that Kurishimi had acquired to get Chad some more serious training and to check in on Akuma again. They hadn't been able to see him the previous day because of different circumstances, so they planned to make up for it today. Not that either of them believed that Akuma would care whether they would show up or not, but they planned to anyway.

As they slept on, the door to their room opened and a figure walked toward Chad's bed. It tapped him a couple times until Chad woke up and saw Akuma kneeling over him. He stared for a moment then sat up quickly when his mind caught up with his vision.

"Akuma! You're-" he started to cry out before Akuma clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Keep quiet, you'll wake up Akashi," he hissed at the boy who nodded in agreement. "Get dressed, I'm giving you some extra practice before she gets up." Akuma walked out of the room and Chad followed as soon as he could. Akuma had his Charizard fly them outside the city to beyond the walls in a flat open area.

"When did you get out?" Chad finally dared to ask.

"Yesterday afternoon," came the reply.

Silence followed for a while which quickly made Chad nervous. "Why didn't you let us know you were out?"

"I had things to do."

"Like what?"

"Don't pry if you don't need to know."

Chad quieted himself for the rest of the trip. When Charizard landed Chad hopped off and Akuma handed him two pokéballs of his own. Akuma flew Charizard a few feet away to a position with space enough between them for a battle.

"In your left hand is Scyther," Akuma began as he returned Charizard to its pokéball, "in your right hand is Infernape. You will use two of your own to make up a team of four Pokémon to battle for as long as you can. This is an endurance test, not a victory battle, so make survival your priority. You've seen those two Pokémon fight more than my others so you know generally how to use them. This is a practice match for you to learn how to adapt as a trainer, understand?"

"Yeah, I got it. So how will I know what your Pokémon attacks are? You never mention them by name."

"Just think about the Pokémon you're using and how they would battle. You'll figure it out. Remember, adapt and learn. That's the point of this exercise."

"I understand. I'll do my best."

"Then we begin now." Akuma threw out a pokéball while Chad did the same with one of his own.


	17. Akuma VS Chad

**Friggin' finally!**

**I had to write this one out in one session to make sure it flowed smoothly. To help with the writing I was listening to the Elite Four battle music from R/S/E. You could probably see musical influence during the majority of the battle I believe.**

Fighting for Akuma's side was Misdreavus. For Chad it was Elekid. Three seconds passes between them before either made a move.

"Wave lengths!"

"Thundershock!"

Misdreavus emitted a psychic wave toward Elekid who was already firing a straight line thundershock toward the opponent. Elekid's attack pierced the center of the psywave to cancel out the attack and hit Misdreavus perfectly. Akuma ordered a 'flash beam' next, so Misdreavus flashed a confuse ray at Elekid leaving it dazed. Chad commanded another thundershock attack which hit Misdreavus again, but Elekid was still in a state of confusion. Chad returned Elekid to its pokéball and sent out... Elekid again. Except that its confusion was now absent. Akuma showed signs of amusement then had Misdreavus use 'beam one'. Elekid became assaulted by psybeam attacks which it tried to avoid with various acrobatics. Because of the frequency of the psybeam there was no opening to counter attack. Chad recalled Elekid again and this time sent out Infernape.

Infernape was somewhat confused at its opponent, and even more confused about its temporary trainer, but accepted the circumstances without questioning upon seeing Akuma's acceptance of the situation. Chad tried having Infernape use flame wheel on Misdreavus which Infernape did know. It leapt into the air and spun vertically toward Misdreavus while coating its body in fire. Misdreavus attempted to dodge but was too slow. Infernape's attack knocked her out.

Akuma recalled Misdreavus and sent out Dugtrio. Chad looked confused at the three headed underground Pokémon but knew any questions or time to think would be pointless. Dugtrio tossed sand at Infernape as Chad commanded another flame wheel that nullified the sand attack. Before the attack could hit, Dugtrio went underground so fast that it took a moment before Chad noticed it was gone. Knowing Infernape wasn't fast enough to dodge whatever attack might be coming next, Chad switched out for Scyther. Scyther noticed whose side it was fighting for, but didn't really seem to care as long as it could fight. Chad had Scyther hover a few feet above the ground to be ready for a slash attack the moment Dugtrio appeared. When it did come up from below, Scyther slashed it before it could retreat. Though not significantly wounded, Dugtrio was immediately switched out by Akuma for a new Pokémon Chad hadn't seen him use before.

Akuma had presented Houndoom to fight against Chad in its debut battle. Chad was frightened at Houndoom's appearance, but tried to hide his fear knowing Akuma was watching him carefully. He had Scyther use double team in six copies and began slashing at Houndoom quickly.

"Houndoom, endure the hits," Akuma commanded as Houndoom was repeatedly slashed by Scyther's blades. Houndoom turned its head toward Akuma and made a threatening growl. "Shut up and listen to me. You can pick out the real Scyther if you pay attention. Strike the real one and the copies will disappear, but you have to endure the hits and focus on the copies to find the real thing." Houndoom looked back to the Scyther copies and searched for the difference. Between the seven attackers there was only one Scyther that was real. It looked at each one as best it could for the one Scyther with a difference but couldn't spot anything. "Flamethrower, straight ahead!" Akuma suddenly said. Houndoom fired its flamethrower at the two Scythers coming at it from the front. One vanished, while the other was knocked back. Immediately the other copies disappeared as well. Houndoom pounced on Scyther and used a point-blank flamethrower to knock it out for good.

Chad was surprised, but didn't say a word as he chose Elekid for another round. Expecting a flamethrower attack, Chad used Elekid's quick attack to get a sure first strike in. The strike hit Houndoom in the face, allowing Elekid to use a leer followed by a thundershock. Houndoom shook off its surprise from the fast attacks and used flamethrower as expected. Elekid used quick attack to evade the flames and struck back with a thundershock when it could. Akuma became annoyed and told Houndoom to use faint attack. Houndoom let Elekid draw in close then knocked it back with its horns when Elekid came in range. Elekid fell to the ground and Houndoom pounced again, just like it had with Scyther, and opened its mouth for the same flamethrower attack.

"Elekid, kick out its feet!" Chad called. Elekid used a low kick on Houndoom's legs, knocking its balance out and the flamethrower shot went wide. "Now use your star power on Houndoom's face!"

Elekid fired a stream of shining stars at Houndoom – a swift attack. Houndoom tried to stand but was hit with another quick attack. Both Akuma and Chad recalled their Pokémon at the same time, surprising them both.

Akuma smiled at the change up and selected a new fighter after a moment of thought. Knowing the younger trainer might be starting to recognize his pokéball contents based on the different styles he had, Akuma was sure to keep the ball out of sight when he pulled it from the straps. Chad however, was hesitant. He was trying to not reveal any of his newer Pokémon to Akuma, but the only two of those he had with him at the moment were Nidorino and Sandshrew, and Nidorino had evolved since Akuma last saw him. Sandshrew hadn't shown itself to be a particularly able fighter either, so he had to use a different Pokémon. The problem was figuring out which one to use and he only had one more selection left before reaching the four Pokémon limit. Finally he decided on his fighter and both he and Akuma threw their pokéballs at the same time. For Akuma, it was Metagross. Fighting for Chad was Bulbasaur.

Akuma observed the new addition to Chad's team briefly before being surprised by Chad's initiative. From the moment Bulbasaur appeared, Chad knew Akuma would take a second or two to look over his new Pokémon but Chad ordered an attack from the moment Bulbasaur appeared leaving Akuma to be the defender while he implemented Erika's advice from the day before.

"Bulbasaur, use vine whip on the legs!"

Bulbasaur's vines shot out quickly from under the bulb and swept out one of Metagross's legs, knocking it off balance. As the vines moved toward another leg Akuma yelled 'magnet rise' causing Metagross to begin floating in the air. The vine whip passed under Metagross doing no damage. Metagross's next attack was take down. It zoomed toward Bulbasaur through the air and smashed into it with its whole body. Bulbasaur flew through the air and bounced off the ground a few times before landing in a cloud of dust. Chad told Bulbasaur to use leech seed and a shot fired from within the cloud to land on Metagross. From the point where it connected, a tiny plant of leafy vines quickly grew up and around Metagross encircling its entire body. Metagross soon showed signs of growing weaker as the plant sapped its energy and transferred it to Bulbasaur, causing Bulbasaur to regain its health. Akuma had Metagross land and dig into the ground for support. When Metagross had braced itself Akuma commanded it to finish Bulbasaur in one move. Metagross began charging energy below its body and Chad saw a mouth open from underneath Metagross. The sound of the charging was identical to the sound Chad and Kurishimi had heard right before the Tyranitar from the other day was defeated. Knowing this attack would finish Bulbasaur immediately, Chad told Bulbasaur to brace for impact. Since it was an open field, there was no cover anywhere in the vicinity. Metagross fired a high power energy beam toward Bulbasaur at a speed too fast to evade. The hyper beam enveloped Bulbasaur entirely and Chad himself was nearly blown back from the destructive force. When the attack had finally passed, Chad couldn't see his Bulbasaur inside the cloud of smoke. Knowing Bulbasaur couldn't battle anymore anyway, and since he couldn't see his Pokémon to recall it yet, Chad released Infernape to battle Metagross. Chad started to move toward the field wreckage where Bulbasaur would be, but noticed Metagross suddenly looked exhausted. Not passing up the opportunity, Chad commanded a mach punch from Infernape that hit Metagross in the center of the X on its face. At close range, the next attack was a flame wheel that stayed in place and grinded into Metagross with ferocity. Metagross took each hit without moving and didn't seem to bother evading or fighting back. Finally Chad told Infernape to use seismic toss. Infernape grabbed one of Metagross's legs and threw it into the air. Next Chad told Infernape to use a mega kick. Infernape leapt into the air ready to kick Metagross into the ground, but Akuma was ready for them.

"Metagross, show us your raw power."

Metagross suddenly seemed revived and used its psychic power to right itself in the air. It raised one of its frontal arms and the claws at the end began to glow. It swung its arm toward Infernape with a brutal meteor mash attack that connected right in the middle of Infernape's chest and stopped the mega kick before it could begin. Infernape crashed into the ground in much the same way as Chad had planned to do to Metagross, but Metagross was still being weakened by the leech seed and both fighters were at their limit.

"Enough, the battle is over," Akuma said as Metagross was recalled. Chad did the same with Infernape as well. "Get to Bulbasaur, it needs attention immediately."

Chad rushed over to Bulbasaur and found it to be in extreme pain. It couldn't even stand up. Chad started to return Bulbasaur to the pokeball, but Akuma had come over to stop him.

"Wait, it won't do well on the trip back. It needs attention right now."

"What should we do then?" Chad asked with a worried tone.

Akuma sat down beside Bulbasaur and checked its wounds thoroughly. "Okay, I've got some medicine on me that might help it out, but I'm out of the proper herbs and berries needed. Over there on that bush there are some blue colored berries. Go pick a few and bring them back. I'll give Bulbasaur the medicine it needs for now."

Chad rushed over and began gathering berries while Akuma produced a pill and some drink from the pouch at his side. He broke the pill into two pieces and fed one to Bulbasaur making sure the pill was swallowed. Bulbasaur began breathing more easily and regained consciousness. Akuma fed it the second half of the pill which Bulbasaur swallowed on its own. After that, Akuma gave it some of the drink he had as Chad came over. Akuma fed it some of the berries Chad had picked until Bulbasaur was ready to travel, and Chad was allowed to return it to its pokéball at last.

"Keep the rest of those berries inside one of the pouches in your vest, Chad. Those are Oran berries and are a good snack for Pokémon that have injuries. They aren't as strong as potions, but you may be able to use them in emergencies. Now we can head back to the Pokémon Center and give your Pokémon the attention they need. Let's get out of here."

Chad gave Akuma back his Pokémon and the two began flying back into the city on Charizard. It was a silent trip, until Akuma broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about your Bulbasaur. Metagross and I got carried away with the battle. I knew your Bulbasaur was at a lower level, but I still fought too hard."

"It's alright. I don't think many others would have fought less than you did anyway if it was anything but a friendly battle. It's something I have to be prepared for is all."

"No, we got too carried away. If I didn't have the proper medicine on me, Bulbasaur might have become permanently damaged. I wasn't thinking clearly again."

"What do you mean by 'again'?"

"Never you mind; I was just thinking out loud."

When they arrived in the city the sun had come up and was shining throughout the city, lighting up the streets as the crowds began to come out. Charizard landed in front of the Pokémon Center allowing Chad to quickly rush inside and heal his Pokémon. Akuma stepped off and stood by Charizard, silently watching the boy go inside. Charizard waited for a moment before growling a question at Akuma.

"I don't know what happened. First it was Big Red and now Metagross. I'm worried you might be next. I think I'm running out of time." Charizard was silent and waited for Akuma to continue. "I think it's time I started taking an active approach like the other hunters. I mean, I've always appreciated being anonymous, but apparently that can only get me so far. Akashi didn't catch her Onix in the wild, she traded for it. And she can control it just fine. I think Fuji was right about what he said. Charizard, I think it's time to change things up for us. I've reached my limit as a trainer for my Pokémon. I'm not going to lose you too."

Charizard placed a clawed hand on its trainer's head and gave a gentle growl before Akuma returned it to its pokéball and followed Chad inside.


	18. The Art of Capturing Pokémon

…**. What? I don't have any commentary this time.**

Kurishimi was surprised to see Akuma that morning, and even more surprised to hear that he had battled Chad with the boy doing well enough for Akuma to complement him on it afterward. After pacifying her curiosity Akuma went to the video phone and exchange system where he spent a full hour talking to various people on the other line. Bulbasaur was taken to the critical treatment room for a long time. Chad waited outside the room until it got out. Other than a scar on its right side Bulbasaur was as good as new, but when it saw Akuma it kept its distance until it could retreat into the pokéball.

When Akuma was done with the phone he told them both that they were leaving Saffron city that day and they should say goodbye to the girl they'd been with. Chad was sad to leave, but Kurishimi went with him to cheer him up. Akuma left the Pokémon Center too, and said for them to be back within a few hours time.

When she heard that Chad and Kurishimi were leaving Saffron Julia became very sad, however Chad didn't specifically say goodbye either, which probably helped them both. Instead he told her to get better so he could battle her again in the future. She cheered up at that, and with a wave the friends parted. Kurishimi got traveling supplies at the local stores and Chad got some things of his own. After they decided they were ready the two headed back to meet with Akuma.

Akuma had gone in a separate direction from the other two. He went south toward the center of the city to the Silph Company headquarters. He spoke with the receptionist who called down a lady to meet him in a few minutes. They spoke for a few moments before Akuma handed her the pokéball containing the Houndour he'd caught a week ago. In return she handed him a small leather bag which he accepted. After he left, he too went back to meet up with the others. Akuma was the last to arrive, and the other two were in the middle of switching out their Pokémon for new ones. When they'd finished, Akuma picked up the trading case he'd keep at the center for safe keeping, as well as gotten a replacement party member for Houndour's former spot before the three left the Pokémon Center for the final time.

As thy walked through the streets, Akuma discovered that a lot of people recognized Kurishimi's face with many of them requesting a battle though she declined every one. "You've made a name for yourself in the city I see," he commented.

"I did really well in the battle area of the city. I even got an invitation to one of the tournaments they had and took second place."

"How many were entered in the tournament?"

"Only about fifty trainers total I believe. I didn't bother to count. Sadly, the ones I fought were below my skill level."

"But you didn't win either."

"The last battle was a two on two double battle. I had a bad matchup was all."

"What were you fighting?"

"It was my Vulpix and Skarmory against a Graveler and a ghost type called Duskull. It was a close fight anyway, and a good battle to boot so I'm not bothered by how it turned out."

When they left the southern gate they didn't bother putting on the family act since Chad had a license now. When they left Akuma also had the guards scan his seventh pokéball and made up a believable story about it being a delivery from a northern village. He even had some delivery papers as 'proof', though they still had to inspect the contents of the trading case he'd brought along. When they were outside the gate Chad released Ponyta, but Akuma stopped him before he could mount.

"This time, we won't be riding. We're walking to Vermillion City now. There's no rush."

"Can Ponyta walk with us anyway?"

"That won't be a problem."

Neither of them noticed Kurishimi silently slip Onix's pokéball back to her belt.

For the early part of their journey the three walked down the road in silence, noticing various Pokémon, but not stopping to catch any. Kurishimi almost went after a bulldog creature named Snubbull, but changed her mind after realizing she had a large number of normal types already. Chad seemed interested in a few as well, but made no move to capture any after noticing Akuma was still nearby. He was still set on raising a team that could beat his master some day. Akuma was scanning the area as if he was looking for something specific. He watched a tall, blue, humanoid duck named Golduck leap into a nearby lake, but didn't go after it despite showing mild interest. He paused to look at a group of steel floating spheres in the air with screws and magnets attached to their bodies named Magnemite, but soon moved on. Everyone was silently watching for something that grabbed their interest and didn't say a word, but as they passed under a low cliff things began to happen.

Akuma looked up and saw a short, blue, toothy Pokémon looking down at them with energetic eyes and something in him snapped. He snatched a pokéball off his wrist and threw it to the ground to reveal a huge bird creature with a long beak and a red comb on its head. Akuma dropped the trading case and leapt on its back with a command to go after the small blue Pokémon. When the bird spread its wings it doubled in size before flying off after the fleeing Pokémon with Akuma on its back.

"Who's that Pokémon?" Chad asked, his mouth hanging open.

"That was a Fearow. I never knew Akuma had one though," Kurishimi said in equal shock.

"What about the Pokémon he was chasing?"

"I didn't get a good look, but I think it was a Totodile. As long as we aren't walking though, I'm getting one of those Magnemite back there," she said with a gleam in her eye. Kurishimi ran back to where the electric Pokémon were leaving Chad by himself.

Chad looked around and, realizing he'd been left alone with nobody to keep an eye on him, ran off the path toward another group of familiar Pokémon with Ponyta following behind.

As Fearow swooped over the rise, Akuma saw the short Pokémon running away toward a small lake not far off. Gaining air above the higher ground with another strong flap, Fearow sped forward to cut off the smaller creature's path. Akuma jumped off the large bird's back with a pokéball in hand as the smaller Pokémon fell backwards from trying to stop too fast.

"I finally found a Totodile," Akuma said with a wide grin. "How much fight do you have, I wonder?" In response the Totodile ran the other way. "Not much it seems. Cut it off, Fearow."

Fearow flew in front of Totodile again while Akuma watched. Again Totodile ran, and again Fearow cut it off. The two of them danced around in circles before Akuma put it back in its pokéball. Totodile froze in front of Akuma with the two of them locking eyes. Akuma's were piercing and cold, while Totodile's were paralyzed with fear. He knelt forward on one knee to look the Totodile in the eye, which was still afraid to move.

"You really are afraid aren't you?" he asked the little creature who couldn't respond. "Paralyzed with fear I see. You don't battle much I assume; you run away instead, am I right?" The little one began breathing more calmly, but still didn't move. Akuma grinned out of the corner of his mouth. "You know what? You're stronger than you think, and you could become even more powerful than you could imagine. If you'd like, I can show you how to do that. My original intention was to capture you without giving you a chance to fight back, but if you aren't willing to try to become stronger, I'll let you go." Now Totodile relaxed more and became interested in what he was saying. "Other Pokémon, like you, also fear battle. However there are some that met that challenge and became more powerful than their peers." With that, Akuma released Infernape and Gastly on either side of him. As was expected, Totodile panicked again at the sight of the larger Pokémon.

"This is Infernape. When he was a Chimchar he wouldn't battle at all. As time went by, he became one of the strongest fighters I have. My other friend is Gastly. It was a weaker creature of the tower it lived in and hid from both Pokémon and humans. It hasn't evolved since I first met it, but is still a reliable and trusted Pokémon. I know you can tell how strong it is. At its current level it could clean out the tower of all the strongest Pokémon from that time, but we haven't had a need to go back either. In fact, these two Pokémon were even weaker than you are right now back then. Imagine what you could become if you were willing to try." Totodile was staring up at Akuma's Pokémon with wide eyes for the longest time before it caught itself then looked back at the trainer. "So what do you think? Are you willing to try your best for yourself? I will help you all the while, as will my Pokémon." Akuma set down a pokéball in front of him and held out an open hand. "In the end, the choice is yours and yours alone. If you decline we will leave you in peace and not ask again. Either way, you must not regret your decision. I will probably not travel back through this route for quite some time, and there is no guarantee that you will not be captured by another trainer in the future as well. Unlike other trainers, I give you a choice. What would you decide upon?"

The group of Magnemite Kurishimi had gone after hadn't noticed her pass by earlier. All of them were asleep, but they started to wake up when a loud rumble grew from the ground under them. They looked around frantically for a cause and began to spread out until the ground exploded out from under them with Kurishimi's Onix roaring as it emerged. Kurishimi herself was clinging to Onix's horn all the while, yelling in excitement at the rush. A couple Magnemite were tossed around by the destructive force while others floated around in a panic. When Onix had torn its tail from underground it slapped a large rock toward a small group of Magnemite as a rock throw attack at Kurishimi's command. The rock crashed against a sturdy Magnemite in the center who didn't budge when the rock, which was four times its size, slammed into it and fell away. Kurishimi grinned from atop Onix's head, knowing which one she wanted.

She opened a pokéball which placed Ekans on the ground between her and Onix. After pointing out her target she instructed it to use a leer before lunging in for a bite. The Magnemite was caught in Ekans' jaws and tossed around until it became dizzy, but the other Magnemite from the group quickly came to help. Ekans was electrocuted by a thundershock attack from all directions. The resulting strike knocked it out quickly and quietly. Kurishimi shook her head in self-disapproval for forgetting about the other Pokémon in the area before attempting a capture. Though Onix was the best Pokémon to battle a large group of Magnemite with, she instead sent out her recently acquired Pinsir to do battle, opting to use Onix for protection until there was little choice otherwise.

Seeing as Pinsir was a purchased Pokémon instead of a capture, Kurishimi and Pinsir had practiced working together by using the Saffron tournaments to develop their trust in each other until they were able to work together well. Kurishimi first had Pinsir lunge for the Magnemite to attack with vicegrip. Pinsir's giant horns clamped shut over the still stunned Magnemite and began to squeeze hard, crushing the helpless Pokémon's tiny body with incredible power. Again the rest of the Magnemite used their electric attacks on Pinsir, but Pinsir shrugged off the blows and began slamming Magnemite into the ground while swinging it wildly as Ekans had earlier. The electric attacks continued, but Pinsir showed no signs of fatigue as it tossed Magnemite up into the air as a seismic toss attack. When Magnemite hit the ground, Pinsir used its small arms for a brutal brick break strike.

While this was going on, Kurishimi had Onix use its tail to slam the attacking Magnemites away to give Pinsir protection as it attacked. Realizing Onix needed help, Kurishimi sent out a third Pokémon, Grimer this time, to keep the attacks at bay. Its tough sludge composed body was an effective shield against the electrical attacks. Additionally, it was able to use a disable attack to cripple many Magnemite from using repeated thundershock attacks without Kurishimi needing to command it to do so.

As the brick break attack struck home Kurishimi launched a pokéball toward the downed Magnemite, who was so beat up it couldn't even manage a twitch. It was instantly sucked inside the pokéball and based on its severely weakened status Kurishimi assumed an easy capture, but the remaining Magnemite turned their attacks toward the pokéball itself instead of the defending and attacking Pokémon. Onix, Grimer, and Pinsir began to defend the pokéball by playing bodyguard and taking the attacks head-on. Unable to take the electric strikes herself, Kurishimi gave commands as best she could to her Pokémon until, as expected, the pokéball gave the confirmation ping. Expecting to take a moment to breathe and relax, Kurishimi and her Pokémon were instead assaulted by even more attacks from the Magnemite ranging from thundershocks and sonicbooms to a special technique called lock on that ensured some Magnemite a guaranteed hit on the prize pokéball in attempts to free their comrade. Pinsir and Grimer were replaced into their pokéballs while Onix wrapped its body around Kurishimi and the pokéball so she could get to it without being hurt too badly. Upon grabbing the pokéball, Kurishimi began climbing up her Onix toward her position at the horn while Onix tried to escape from the attacking Magnemite. When she was in place, Onix once again dug underground to escape.

The Magnemite however, did not give up that easily. They followed Kurishimi down the escape hole in pursuit, firing off attacks ahead of them all the way. Kurishimi clung to her Onix, taking cover behind the horn as they ran. Two attacks managed to strike Kurishimi despite the added coverage in addition to the darkness of the cave, but she still protected the pokéball as best she could. Finally when Onix burst from the earth Kurishimi dropped to the ground immediately. She released Vaporeon to fire its water gun down the hole toward the approaching Magnemite swarm. The attack bought her some time to catch her breath and return Onix to the pokéball as well, until Vaporeon's water gun began to lose its strength. When Vaporeon told Kurishimi her water gun was going to start losing effectiveness soon, Kurishimi ran away by a few yards until she was almost out of range of the pokéball's recall beam before returning her friend. Moving quickly, Kurishimi climbed into a nearby group of rocks and lay down to hide. Realizing the Magnemite would still come for her, she released her Skarmory to perch on the rock she was hiding behind just before the pursuing Magnemite emerged from the hole, hoping it would make them look elsewhere for her.

It seemed like ages before Skarmory gave Kurishimi the all-clear to come out from hiding. When she looked around there was no sign of the Magnemite from before. She climbed onto Skarmory's back and had it carry her over to where she'd left Akuma and Chad. When she found Chad he wasn't the same as when she'd left him. His clothes were all dirty, his hair a mess, and he had a high number of bruises as if he'd been in a fist fight.

"Just what happened to you, boy?" she asked him.

Chad gave a wide grin as he replied. "I kinda tried to catch a feisty Pokémon that was tougher than the last one of its species I saw. I got beat up and pretty much mauled, but I still caught it!"

"What did you catch? Can I see it?"

Chad waved a finger back and forth. "Nuh uh, no telling. Besides, it got transferred to storage right after I caught it anyway. I want to try raising this Pokémon on my own too; without a teacher to guide me."

"Based on your condition after trying to catch it are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I know I look like a mess, but I'll be fine, trust me. And if I can handle this one I should be able to improve myself by a lot."

"Okay, if you say so. Has Akuma shown up yet?"

"I haven't seen him now that you mention it. You think he's alright?"

"He shouldn't have taken this long to capture that Totodile, assuming that's what Pokémon it was."

"Why did he go after it like that anyway? It was very out of character for him."

"Akuma's been wanting a strong water Pokémon for the longest time, but there's a problem he has which doesn't allow him to capture water Pokémon easily. He's hydrophobic, meaning he can't be around water where water Pokémon types prefer to live. The chances of capturing a water Pokémon on land is slim to none. He's been trying to get his hands on a Totodile especially. I don't know if he likes the Pokémon or what, but it's like his dream to capture that Pokémon in particular. That's why he chased it so anxiously when he spotted it. I'm hoping he'll be able to capture it, but he shouldn't be gone this long."

Before Chad could reply a shadow passed over them both as Fearow reappeared from above the cliff carrying Akuma on its back. Fearow hovered down to the ground gently as its flapping wings whipped up a strong gust of air toward the other two travelers. When it landed Akuma returned it inside the pokéball and walked over. Kurishimi was about to ask where he'd been but stopped when she saw the Totodile hanging onto his left shoulder like an accessory.

"Totodile is joining our group on its own," Akuma said before the others could ask. "It is still a wild Pokémon, so keep your empty pokéballs away from it if you could please. No one will be allowed to capture it, no questions asked. Understand?"

Kurishimi and Chad both nodded. The Totodile's face was as emotionless as Akuma was while it looked at them, but at least it didn't appear quite as cruel. Akuma began walking down the road again while the other two followed him, but stopped after a moment to look back.

"Chad, next time you try catching a wild Pokémon, use your Pokémon to fight instead of your fists. You'll have an easier time of it."

Chad and Kurishimi stared back at him with wide eyes then broke out into laughter while Akuma and Totodile looked on.

"Since when do you crack jokes like that?" Kurishimi asked when she was able. Chad was still busy laughing while Totodile appeared confused.

"If you'd prefer I didn't say anything at all I will refrain myself next time. Let's go," Akuma told her before walking away.

"I didn't mean it like that. Hey wait up, Akuma!"


	19. Nightfall

That evening the three of them made camp in the grass beside the road. Akuma made some simple foods for them while Kurishimi took care of feeding the Pokémon. While the older two were in charge of food prep, Chad set up tents and sleeping bags for all three. There were no clouds in the sky so extra shelter wasn't necessary. Even as he was busy with the food, Akuma had his Infernape training with Houndoom. Kurishimi had been initially frightened at the sight of the dark Pokémon and didn't try to hide it. Even now she kept directing nervous glances at it while they trained. Kurishimi fed all her Pokémon except Magnemite. Chad knew she had captured one while they were separated and he assumed Akuma suspected it too, but she didn't reveal it for reasons unknown. Chad also knew it hadn't been transferred to storage either because she kept newer Pokémon with her to be deposited at her leisure. Likewise, Chad also kept the majority of his Pokémon inside their pokéballs as well. Nidorino and Cubone would not make an appearance due to Akuma being unaware of them. Chad had plans to feed them at a later time when Akuma wasn't watching.

That night they sat around a fire, provided by Infernape, talking about their destination: Vermillion City. Akuma said that it was a port town with ship access to many different regions as well as the Orange and Sevii Islands. He intended to only stay long enough for Kurishimi to win her badge and leave immediately after, but the other two wanted to go down and see the ocean. After a brief argument he allowed them a trip, but he wouldn't be joining them when they went. When Kurishimi pressed him on what he would be doing in the meantime he said nothing and changed the topic.

Shortly thereafter, Chad left the group to go feed the two absent from dinner. The farther he got from the campfire, the darker it became. He usually spent his nights in a city so the darkness of the outside was somewhat frightening to him. He released Ponyta from its pokéball to provide light while he traveled. After walking a sufficient distance from the campsite Chad released his Pokémon and began feeding them.

"Sorry guys, but I can't let Akuma know about you right now. I'll have to hide you from him for as long as possible." Nidorino was somewhat disappointed by the news as it had become friendly with many of Kurishimi's Pokémon recently. Cubone didn't seem to care as it ate the food with enthusiasm.

After a moment of thought Chad said, "Hey you guys, there's a Pokémon gym in Vermillion City that Kurishimi will be battling in. After she gets her badge do you want to try getting one as well?"

Nidorino looked both excited and nervous at the same time. It had been with Chad in the Cerulean gym enough to know that the trainers in there, not to mention the gym leader, were tough fighters.

"Hey come on everyone, we're a lot better than we were before we left Cerulean. I think we've got a good chance this time."

Nidorino looked at the ground while Cubone's eyes glittered. All the while Ponyta stood by quietly with the crackle of its flames a constant sound in the darkness.

"We'd have to spread out our training for everyone to practice, but I think we can do it now. I've got a lot of confidence in every one of you."

Cubone flailed its bone around in excitement and accidentally whacked Nidorino in the head. Nidorino growled at Cubone who just yelled back and whacked it again; this time on purpose. Nidorino tackled Cubone down and began biting and clawing at it. In response Cubone began beating Nidorino back until Chad and Ponyta stepped in. Both of them got hit by the attacks too until the four of them were flailing away at each other.

Kurishimi watched Akuma speak to the Totodile about battling. He was going over the basics of Pokémon battling and how he trained his Pokémon to better themselves in battles through a special form of self training. Kurishimi had heard it all before. She was given the same instructions with Vaporeon shortly after Akuma had begun to train her too. What she was most interested in however, was how Akuma interacted with Totodile. He was displaying what seemed to be a gentle and caring side toward the young Pokémon. Maybe she was exaggerating to herself since she wasn't used to it, but it was still rare enough to even make her a little uncomfortable.

As Akuma began to finish his lesson for the Totodile, Kurishimi heard approaching footsteps behind her. She turned her head and reached for a pokéball, but Akuma stopped her.

"It's the kid again," he said without turning his head to look away from Totodile.

As he'd said, Chad came out of the dark illuminated by the glow from Ponyta's flames. Kurishimi started to look back toward Totodile, but looked again when she saw Chad looking as beat up as he had been when he'd captured the mystery Pokémon from earlier.

"What happened to you out there?" she asked with concern.

"Uh, Pokémon feeding frenzy I guess?" he told her with a tone that suggested otherwise. "Maybe they were just anxious to eat after so long. Everyone else certainly was at least."

"Yeah, maybe." Kurishimi wasn't buying it, but let it slide.

Chad sat down near Kurishimi and watched the fire flames dance in the pit. He listened to Akuma's final words of instruction to Totodile before it went into the tent to sleep. Akuma tossed another piece of wood on the fire and lay back to look up at the stars. There was a long period of comfortable silence before Akuma broke it.

"Akashi, tell me about gym badges."

"Huh? What's this about?"

"I'm in need of information and I'm asking you to get an answer. What do you know about gym badges and their properties?"

"Well in basic terms, a gym badge is a symbol that a trainer has defeated a gym leader. Typically the more skilled a trainer is the more badges they have. This isn't always the case of course, but it's one thing to say you're strong and another to have physical proof of it. The Pokémon League uses gym badges to determine which trainers are allowed to compete in the League and challenge the Elite Four. There are variations on this, but that's another story."

"What about the properties of gym badges?"

"No one but the gym leader knows how their badges are created or what metals are used, but they are unique and have an effect on all Pokémon under a trainer's care. Some badges have an effect on things such as a Pokémon's attack power or speed in battles which is another incentive to collect them. Some trainers have reported that badges help their Pokémon perform certain moves, but there is some argument about that and researchers still can't confirm those rumors. What they have agreed on however, is that badges help a trainer to control their Pokémon as well. Pokémon that have been traded to others are known to sometimes disobey. If a trainer has earned certain badges then they are able to control these Pokémon. However there are instances where a Pokémon is naturally unruly and would disobey on its own until properly trained or trust is earned. As to whether a badge helps with this, I can't say for sure. I wouldn't dismiss the idea of course."

"You had a badge before you acquired Onix, correct?"

"That's right. I had the Rainbow badge."

"And you've been able to control your Pokémon well enough without any problems, correct?"

"Correct again. You have something in mind?"

"It's nothing. Forget it."

"I doubt it's nothing. Come on, tell me."

Akuma was silent for a while until Chad tossed another log on the fire. Kurishimi was beginning to think he'd fallen asleep on her.

"I've been thinking about the last battle I had with Big Red," Akuma finally said.

"Against the Aipom, right?"

"That's the one. I also lost control of Metagross yesterday while I was fighting the boy, and at this rate I think Charizard might be next. I've been thinking about collecting gym badges to help me keep control of my Pokémon if it's possible."

Kurishimi exchanged a surprised look with Chad. "What gave you the idea to try that?"

"Something someone had told me once that I had forgotten about. It's not important anyway, just something I've been wondering." Akuma sat up and released Cleffa beside him. Chad stared wide eyed at the unusual Pokémon Akuma had. It was a major difference from the violent and brutal Pokémon he seemed to favor. "Its name is Cleffa," Akuma told him when he caught Chad staring. "Cleffa is still a baby, so don't even think about seeing me battle with it."

"Why do you carry it with you then?" the boy asked.

"I'm taking care of it."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well no, I guess not."

"Then don't ask."

Kurishimi smiled to herself. Akuma was becoming more like himself as the day went on. He didn't seem as disturbed over the battle with Raikou as he had been while in the hospital. She was happy that he was able to move on from such a horrible defeat so quickly as well as becoming stronger from a loss instead of a win. It was something she especially admired about him.

Chad came over to the Cleffa and petted the tuft of fur on top of its head. "How long have you had it?"

"Cleffa is female. I've had her for a few months."

"It looks a lot like a chibi Clefairy to me."

"That's probably because Cleffa will evolve into Clefairy in time."

"Wow. A baby Clefairy must be pretty rare. Does it evolve like normal Pokémon?"

"No, it doesn't. I don't want to know how it evolves either. I expect to figure it out in time. It doesn't really matter to me whether Cleffa evolves or not anyway, though I hope it happens some day."

Kurishimi was just thinking about going to bed when Akuma said, "Akashi, get up. We're training your Ekans."

"What, now?"

"No, I was thinking we could go back to Saffron and get some milk tea first."

"But isn't it too dark for training?"

"No, now is the perfect time. Ekans hasn't battled under your instruction during the night has it?"

"True, but since when do we battle in the dark?"

"It's better to be ready for something that won't happen than to have it happen and not be ready for it." Akuma walked out of the firelight into the dark. Kurishimi followed after a brief hesitation while Chad stayed by the fire not knowing what to do.


	20. Surrounded By Darkness

**I really do love fear tactics. This chapter was really exciting to write, though I did have to have a light on before I finished. Hopefully your imagination gives you the same show that mine did.**

**Sadly this might be the last update I'll give you for a long time if I can't edit one more within the next few weeks. I'm losing my internet connection and I don't know whether we'll be able to get another one any time soon.**

Walking into the darkness, Kurishimi could just make out the form of Akuma's back ahead of her. When he stopped and held up a hand for her to wait, she paused while he walked further ahead. The silence in the middle of the darkness was frightening, but Kurishimi held her ground while chewing her lip in habit. She heard Akuma release a Pokémon so she brought out Ekans as well. The flash from the pokéball was bright in the darkness, but very brief. She couldn't see more than the grass in the spot where Ekans was released.

"Support Ekans however you can," she heard Akuma say from somewhere after he'd given quiet instructions to his own Pokémon. "Keep Ekans in good fighting condition until there is no more danger. Begin!"

Instantly Kurishimi assumed a fighting stance and her Ekans coiled into a striking pose. It was obviously unsure of how to battle in the dark as well, but a few encouraging words from Kurishimi gave it enough confidence to lose the visible nervousness. At least from what she could tell in the dark.

There was a crunching sound from ahead of her like a rock being stepped on and crushed.

Kurishimi hesitated as she tried to place the sound. It was familiar enough that she knew it was Akuma's Pokémon, but not familiar enough that she knew what it was. It sounded heavy, but wasn't Metagross. Since he had used Fearow to fly earlier it probably wasn't Charizard either. What other heavy Pokémon did he have though? Oh no. It wasn't his seventh Pokémon was it? No, even Akuma wasn't that brutal as a teacher.

The crunching sound started moving rapidly toward her. It was so fast she didn't have time to think. She jumped out of the way and heard it rush by, but didn't feel anything. Ekans had escaped too, but had evaded the attack to the left instead of the right like she had. The result had them separated in the dark and there was still no way to figure out where the attacker was coming from or what it was. Akuma had said she could support Ekans in any way, but she couldn't use her Pokémon to attack either. She was supposed to be training Ekans at the moment and another Pokémon fighting back would deny Ekans the win.

"Ekans, when the sound comes at you again fire a poison sting then dodge toward my voice," she said quietly. Being in total silence, Ekans easily heard her quiet orders. As to whether her opponent did or didn't, she was unsure but she had to take the chance while it was distant.

The crunching seemed to be coming back around toward her in an arc. She heard Ekans fire a poison sting until the enemy got closer and Ekans was forced to dodge. Kurishimi had been listening intently to the sounds of the attacking Pokémon but still had no clue what it was. She hadn't even heard Ekans' attack connect. Either her opponent was very good at dodging or the attack hadn't even come close. After Ekans had come back to rest beside her foot, Kurishimi felt the ground where her enemy had passed by the first time. She was looking for a footprint to get an idea on who she was fighting, but instead of a footprint she found an upturned mound of dirt going in a straight line. With a smirk she started a new strategy now that she had a good idea on what Pokémon Akuma was having her fight.

Her opponent stopped moving and angled directly for her this time instead of going around. Unable to think of an effective plan yet, Kurishimi had Ekans use screech on the approaching danger which had an effect, but not by much. Again the attack missed but the narrow escapes were growing steadily closer. They might only have been able to dodge one more at the very best.

"Okay Ekans, spray your acid at the area in front of us. That should slow it down more if not damage it."

Ekans did as Kurishimi asked. A rotten stench came from the acid Ekans sprayed from its mouth and created a wide pool in front of them. It wasn't deep or particularly dangerous, but it would be enough for the two of them to gain an advantage. The attacker rushed toward them much quicker than before; enough to guarantee that if the acid didn't stop it, Kurishimi and Ekans were sure to feel the attack. Kurishimi chewed her lip as she imagined the damage it would do, but tried her best to stay calm while thinking of her next attack. Finally when the sound reached the edge of the pool there was a hissing sound like acid on flesh. The progressive attack slowed to a stop as a moan of pain confirmed without a doubt that Kurishimi and Ekans were fighting Dugtrio.

Now with Dugtrio at a halt, and probably above ground as evidenced by the sounds of pain they had heard, Kurishimi ordered Ekans to attack in full. Ekans sprang toward the wounded Dugtrio and clamped down with its jaws. Once it had a firm hold on the attacker, Ekans wrapped its body around all three of Dugtrio's heads. Even though Ekans was touching the pool the contact was kept to a minimum and Ekans had a resistance to such damage as well. Dugtrio was being squeezed too tightly to go underground again and the bite attacks were causing significant damage as well. Eventually a dark red beam lanced toward the sounds of struggle and pulled Dugtrio away from the attacks and into the pokéball it came from. Ekans bounded away from the toxic pool toward Kurishimi who made sure that the acid was thoroughly wiped away before patting her friend for a job well done.

"I was expecting a bit more from you for a night time training session," she said toward the emptiness where the light had appeared from. She smiled to herself but the smile vanished when only silence answered. "Akuma?" Still there was no answer. "Hey, are you okay out there?" She stood up and walked around where she assumed the acid was toward where Akuma would be. "Hello?"

"You were told to fight until the danger was gone," a voice said in her ear.

Kurishimi jumped and gave a startled yelp of surprise then turned around to where the voice had come from. Akuma's figure should have been visible, but was absent. Kurishimi was shaken, but didn't give herself time to think about it. Based on those words her training wasn't finished. There was still a challenge to be had. She felt Ekans move up against her leg in fright and nearly gave another vocal outburst. Knowing she was more than a little rattled, she tried to slow her breathing to a more calming tempo. It didn't work very well. Akuma's scare tactics were disturbing her more than she was used to. She tried to regain her composure by shaking her head and slapping her cheeks which seemed to help a little more than proper breathing could. Taking a deep breath she felt herself calm down enough to be ready for the next surprise.

Then she felt a chilling cold go up her spine. It wasn't the kind of cold you'd get from a winter wind or when someone drops a snowball down your back. It was the kind of chill that made your body lock up in fear.

Kurishimi didn't have a problem controlling her breathing now. In fact she couldn't breathe at all. She was petrified and didn't even know the source of the fear. She knew she wasn't in any danger. This was Akuma's training and he wouldn't let his Pokémon do any serious damage to her. He wasn't that bad, but she couldn't shake the fear either. But then again, Akuma had just confessed that he had been losing control of his Pokémon lately. What if this was another case? She trembled at the feeling and stared into the dark trying her hardest to figure out what kind of danger it was that Akuma had not yet removed. It was at that point that she saw large gleaming eyes distantly in the dark. They were staring right through her as when a hunter locks onto its prey. Again she felt overtaken by fear. Ekans must have been feeling the same thing because it wrapped itself around her leg. She confirmed that Ekans was afraid because she could feel it trembling. She closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to will away the fear. When she opened her eyes again she saw that the eyes had disappeared. In a panic she searched the dark trying to figure out where the enemy had gone when once again she was forced into terror. From the darkness all around her there was a dark haunting laugh. The voice surrounded her and made her insides flip. That was definitely NOT Akuma's voice. But what scared her even more was that she now realized the voice in her ear from before had also not been Akuma's.

Kurishimi was beyond fear now. She was terrified. This training session was over. She forced herself to move. She grabbed up Ekans in her arms which scared the poor snake and darted toward the light of the fire. She hadn't gone more than a few steps before she heard a splash and felt her leg get wet. Was it water? No, it burned. It was the acid! She jumped back and ran around the pool to her best guess then made a direct run toward the firelight. It was then that she felt her attacker take on a real presence of fear. As she ran, she felt someone or something following her from behind. There were no footsteps, nor was there any rapid breathing, but she knew undoubtedly that she was being chased. More than halfway to the fire she tripped and fell to the ground with Ekans at her side. The ominous presence swept up behind her and she felt it wash over her body. Again the dark voice laughed as it crept over her. This exercise was definitely over with.

Kurishimi was no longer afraid, but angry. She grabbed Magnemite's pokéball from her belt and opened it in front of her. The electric energy from the magnet Pokémon gave it a warm blue glow as it hovered in the air in front of her.

"Magnemite, use thundershock on me right now!" she screamed.

The little Pokémon was startled, but the urgency in its trainer's voice caused it to obey immediately. The electric attack struck Kurishimi and as it did she felt the dark creature pull away from her. She hurried to her feet, grabbed up Ekans, and ran for the fire calling for Magnemite to hurry after her. As the light came over her she felt her fear and desperation evaporate. She was sure that whatever it was would not be a threat to her now and collapsed to her knees while gasping for air.

Chad, who had heard the entire exchange taking place from his seat at the fire, rushed over to Kurishimi before she had hit the ground. He put an arm over her and helped her to a seat by the fire while she slowly began to regain her composure. Ekans rushed inside the safety of the tent and dove into Kurishimi's sleeping bag while Magnemite scanned the darkness for any threat. Kurishimi couldn't even look up from the fire for the longest time. When she could hold herself up, Chad began washing her leg with some water Vaporeon had provided earlier that day to clean the acid off.

After her breathing became stable and her posture began to relax, they heard approaching footsteps from the darkness. Chad looked up to see Akuma step out from the shadows with an unreadable expression on his face. He didn't say a word, but sat down on the opposite side of the fire to look at Kurishimi's face. The result was not a pleasant one. When Kurishimi realized he was there she lifted her head and the look on her face told Akuma that she was not at all pleased. When Magnemite saw her eyes it dashed into the tent where Ekans was cowering. Fortunately for Chad he couldn't see the look she was giving to Akuma, but he could feel a threatening aura from the older girl that made him slowly inch away to a safer location. It was obvious this night was not going to end well.


	21. Holding a Grudge

If looks could kill Akuma would have been wiped from history by the death glare Kurishimi was directing at him. In response he stared back at her with a look that did not convey anger, sympathy, sadness, or even fear.

"Are you alright?" he finally asked her.

Kurishimi said nothing.

"Perhaps that exercise was a little too much for you. Sorry about that."

Akuma's words were again met with silence.

"If you have something to say then say it. I'm not going to wait all night for you to stop wasting my time."

"What in the name of Arceus were you thinking putting me and Ekans through that?" Kurishimi said in a vicious tone. "If I wasn't angry enough to be held back by it I would come over there and choke you to death, I swear."

"That was a special advanced training session for elite trainers designed to help them cope with some of the most difficult moves and abilities of Pokémon. It is also intended to help trainers overcome intense fear in overwhelming situations," Akuma explained. "Fear is one of the most powerful and dangerous emotions humans and Pokémon have. It's a defense mechanism that warns us of danger, but as you noticed it can also be a great hindrance if there is too much of it. Fear may be helpful to us at times, but when exploited by our enemies it can make us play into our opponent's hands. This is not only true for enemies, but also in Pokémon battling. When you felt that fear come over you, you lost all confidence in your abilities to the point where you felt unable to fight back. It was this fear and inability to counter your opponent that caused you to lose the battle and run away.

"Akashi, this test was not only to help you realize the extent of your weakness in fear and train you to cope with battling in the dark. This exercise was the beginning of the final stages in your training. You have become an exceptionally powerful and skilled Pokémon trainer in the short time I have trained you. There is little more I can teach you to the extent of my abilities. You have your shortcomings and flaws as a trainer, but these are to be expected since everyone grows in their abilities in their own way with their own strengths and weaknesses. Tonight I showed you a common weakness that everyone possesses. As to what path you decide to take to overcome this weakness, or even if you do nothing, this is for you to decide on your own. Naturally you have others which I am willing to assist you with. For your reassurance though, I doubt any such exercises will be as… intense as this one was. At this point in your growth you are hindered only by what you allow. Everyone has their own limits in life, but it is up to each person to pass those limits and become more than what they were intended to be. I cannot help to bring you to those limits, but I can help you surpass them. However, it is only by choice that you can become more than what you are. As evidenced tonight there are times when pushing yourself beyond your limits will not be a pleasant experience. To be honest with you it is never easy, but the end result is worth it more often than not.

"To wrap things up I'll tell you a little secret. You, Akashi, are perhaps the most talented and gifted trainer I have ever encountered. You have an incredible skill and ability to bond with Pokémon that I could never have. To my knowledge, no one in the world that I have met matches you in skill and ability. If you push yourself hard enough there is nothing you can't do. It is my desire to see you reach that point in your life where nothing can make you stronger and there is no goal that you can not obtain because you are already the best. You can easily become a much better trainer than I ever could be because I do not have the raw talent you do. I would not be surprised if someday in the future you were to become a world champion master trainer. Your talent is unquestionable and your skill is nearly unrivaled. I am very proud of what you have become in such a short time."

As Akuma had spoken Kurishimi's glare had softened. It was still threatening, but not so much as it had been. When Akuma had finished his speech there was another silence as the two locked eyes with each other. Akuma's face never altered from his trademark glare despite the personal talk they just had. After a long time Kurishimi stood up and walked into her tent to retire for the night without saying a word. Chad nervously got back up onto his seat and tossed another log on the fire.

"So uh… what happened out there anyway?" he asked his mentor.

"I used my Pokémon's abilities to trick Kurishimi's senses into believing something other than the truth. I didn't have the proper Pokémon for the test like those that were used for the one I was exposed to, but I made do with what I had."

"How many Pokémon did you use to trick her?"

"Two."

"Only two Pokémon got that much fear from Kurishimi? What were they?"

Akuma opened Dugtrio's pokéball in front of him. "Dugtrio provided an unfamiliar sound and a seemingly invisible target."

"What about the screaming I heard earlier?"

"That was a special trick that very few Pokémon can pull off. Fortunately I have just the Pokémon for the job. I left it hiding in the dark in case Akashi took revenge by smashing its pokéball." Akuma waved to the dark and a familiar face came out with a mischievous grin.

"Gastly!" Chad exclaimed. "You used a ghost type's special moves to cause fear!"

"Yes, that is correct. Normally Gastly doesn't like to battle and provides assistance as a backup Pokémon, but it helped me out a ton with its unique abilities."

"How long have you had Gastly?"

"Gastly was the first Pokémon I caught when I was a kid. I received it before I got my starter Pokémon even."

"Wow. So I assume it's a fully evolved Pokémon then?"

"Not at all. Gastly is a first stage Pokémon that never evolved."

"You're kidding! You've had Gastly for that long a time and it never evolved?"

"That's correct. As I said, Gastly doesn't like battling. She never accumulated enough battle experience to become a Haunter. It doesn't matter though. Gastly is powerful enough to be a threat to anyone who mistakes her unevolved form to be a sign of weakness."

"How is it that a Pokémon with minimal battling experience can be so strong and not evolve?"

"It's not just the levels of the fighter that determine evolution, Chad. There are many factors which contribute to a Pokémon growing to the point of evolution. How harsh the battle is can instantly trigger evolution in a Pokémon in one go, even if they are very young. Frequently battling with a single Pokémon in an attempt to make it stronger can also spark evolutionary changes too. On occasion a Pokémon can even begin evolution on its own through sheer will, but this is a very rare occurrence. A sense of companionship and the will to overcome obstacles between friends can trigger multiple evolutions at the same time, but this is dependent on the experience of those Pokémon as well. My point is that combat experience alone isn't enough to determine when a Pokémon will evolve. Though I will admit, it certainly helps when it's time for evolution."

Silence once again followed after Gastly went back into her pokéball. Neither of the two added more wood to the fire indicating they planned to go to sleep soon.

"So… what can we expect from Kurishimi tomorrow?" Chad asked.

"Heh, nothing good I bet," Akuma said with a smirk. "I'd say keep your distance from both of us. If she blows up when you're near me you'll be in the line of fire. One thing you should know about females is that they tend to have a rather dangerous revenge streak. We'd better sleep though. We spent a lot of the night being awake."

Akuma used Dugtrio's sand attack to put out the fire before they went to sleep. Chad went into the tent ahead of him, but just before Akuma went in he stopped and looked out into the darkness. He stared hard into the emptiness and listened intently, but there were no sounds. Pulling a pokéball off of his straps, Akuma had Gastly emerge once more.

"Can you keep an eye out on things for me tonight? Something feels wrong out there."

Gastly nodded as Akuma disappeared into the tent. Gastly in turn disappeared as well, and for a time there was nothing but silence.

Early in the morning before any people, Pokémon, or even the sun was up, three familiar figures clad in black approached the campsite. Despite the total darkness of the wilderness the three could see where they were going just fine by the use of night-vision goggles.

"There are two tents I can see out there," one of the two in back whispered up to the person in front. "Which one is the hunter in?"

"Since there are two males and one female I would assume the hunter is in the larger of the tents with the child if they are still traveling together."

"But if they aren't then wouldn't the female take the larger tent for herself?"

"The hunter would probably prefer the larger tent and seeing as how he is the stronger of the two it makes sense he would be in the bigger one anyway."

"I wouldn't count on it Kyle. The girl's got some incredible power too. I even recommended her to the boss while we were in town."

"Can the chatter you two," the third person said. "We're close enough that we risk waking them up."

The trio cautiously crept up to the larger tent where the lead member tried to look in through the barely visible netting on the top used for ventilation. He shook his head as he realized the angle would probably force him to fall over if he leaned forward any more. Instead he came around to the front end and just before he could pull back the tent flaps he heard a voice from inside.

"Curse them… the one in front first… curse him before…."

The voice was male and was the voice of who they were searching for. The leader smiled and nodded to the other two before pulling back the tent flap and gently stepped inside. There was a young boy sleeping next to their target, the hunter, who had probably been talking in his sleep. In the back corner was a young Totodile. Moving as carefully as he could manage, the man knelt down over the larger one's form and looked at the pokéballs strapped across his chest looking for the tell-tale symbol of the Pokémon he wanted. One, two, three, four, five… wait, where the sixth pokéball? Ah yes, it was in the trainer's hand; no doubt a sleeping habit for safety. He had to move around a little more cautiously, but he discovered that the pokéball in hand was not the one he was searching for either. Frustrated and feeling somewhat exhausted, the man sat up away from the other and looked around the tent. Other than the boy sprawled out on top of the blanket he used to be under there wasn't much in the tent except for basic camping supplies and personal items. But wait, the boy had pokéballs on his belt too. Niklos had mentioned that the younger boy was a trainer as well. Perhaps he would have what he was looking for.

Kyle wiped his forehead and took a slow breath before inspecting the younger one's pokéballs. One, two, three, nothing on that side at least, but there were some pokéballs under the boy that he couldn't check very well. He was lucky though because right before he could move to get a better position the boy rolled over with a pained groan. Probably having a nightmare he guessed. Any noise might wake the kid up and nightmares usually had a tendency to wake people up noisily. First though, the pokéball count. Four, five, si- that was it! The pokéball had Bill's marking on it! He couldn't get it off now though. He needed to step outside and take a breath. The air in the tent seemed to be pretty heavy.

"It's a trick, it must be," came the voice again. Kyle jumped and turned back to see the hunter shift in his sleep. "Must be a trick... I'll get…"

Kyle sighed heavily and stepped out to join the other two Rocket members. He was a little dizzy when he emerged. Probably nothing though. He nodded his head at the others before walking a little way out and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Niklos asked him when they were out of an audible range.

"Just feeling a little dizzy. I found one of the targets, but the boy had it instead. Couldn't pull it off until I cleared my head."

"I'll take care of it then. Be right back."

Niklos quickly went back to the camp and slipped inside. As he stepped closer to the boy the other one spoke in his sleep again.

"Happening again… why again?"

Niklos ignored him and began to gently remove the pokéball from the belt of the child. It was difficult and he too soon began to feel the tight space of the tent affect him. He wouldn't leave until he got what he wanted though. Finally the small sphere detached into his hand with a click. He smiled and quickly stood up to leave but got dizzy from the quick movement and fell down to one knee. His head was throbbing and his ears seemed plugged, but he waited for it to pass while breathing slowly. He was wondering how he could feel so badly just from being inside a tent and a large one at that when he was struck from behind and fell unconscious.

Chris was waiting for Kyle to feel better so he could go check on Niklos. It seemed like he was taking too long to retrieve the pokéball. Kyle should have felt better by now but had actually gotten worse. He'd collapsed to the ground and even through the green filter of the night vision Chris could see that his skin had paled considerably. The food from that restaurant must've been especially bad. Finally he got tired of waiting and went to the tent to check on Niklos for himself. But when he peeked in he didn't see Niklos anywhere. Just the two males and a Totodile were inside, though only the younger one was using a blanket. He closed the tent flap and went to the next tent over to see if he was in there instead. Inside there wasn't much except for a single sleeping bag and some bags of food. The girl was probably sleeping here since the two boys were in the other he assumed since he couldn't see the sleeping person. Chris quickly rushed back to Kyle and found him to be a little bit more stable than before.

"Kyle, I can't find Niklos. He wasn't inside either of the tents even though the three trainers seemed to be."

"He'd better not have run off with that pokéball to take credit on his own," Kyle said to the ground.

"No, that's impossible. I kept an eye on the tents while you were down just in case he might do that. I would've seen him trying to escape no matter which way he went."

Kyle looked up at the camping site as well as the surrounding area. "Is it possible they knew we were coming?"

"Not a chance. There weren't any Pokémon around and the area has been largely undisturbed since we got here. There's a battle area to the east where it seems like something happened recently, but nothing abnormally strange about it. All in all things seem to be in order."

"Something feels wrong though. After going inside that tent I got sick and after Niklos went in he disappeared."

"I feel just fine though."

"You weren't in there for a very long time like we were. This was supposed to be a quick in and out mission. I wonder what went wrong."

"Maybe we should go in together then."

"That's out of the question. You'll end up like me and I might get worse. We need a plan."

"I've already got one. What I need to know though is whether the pokéball is still in the tent or if it vanished with Niklos. If I could get in there quickly just to confirm that the pokéball is there I can retrieve it instantly."

"You're sure of this?"

"I am."

"Use your Machop to get it then."

"Why Machop?"

"It has a move called foresight. It should be able to briefly see in the dark with that."

"What about this supposed tent curse?"

"After Machop gets back place it inside the pokéball again. If it isn't poisoned it should be safe there."

"What if it is poisoned?"

"I have pecha berries we can use if need be. Send it in there already."

Chris released his Machop to go into the tent. A moment later it ran back over and somehow told the two that the pokéball was confirmed to be gone. It appeared to be slightly exhausted as well before it went back into the pokéball.

"This is getting weirder by the minute," Kyle said to himself thoughtfully. "Machop wasn't in there for very long. Something very strange is happening here."

"Should we back off until morning then?"

"Not a chance. This is the perfect opportunity to strike and we're getting attacked by something we don't know about, not to mention Niklos's disappearance."

"Do you suppose that Niklos defected?"

"No chance of that. Niklos is very dedicated to Team Rocket. There's something we're missing here, I just need to figure out what."


	22. Dark Battles

**I feel as if there's a lot in this chapter I could have rewritten, but I couldn't find anything to rewrite. Even the title seems dull in my opinion. I think it's probably just confusing to me is all. I don't know…**

The Team Rocket members stared out toward the otherwise defenseless tent sitting completely out in the open. It was the most basic shelter humans could manage to construct and right now it was somehow an inconceivable threat for them and their mission. There weren't any wild Pokémon around that would be attacking them for infringing on their territory because the tents had been safely set up. There were no other Pokémon nearby that could receive commands from the three trainers and there were no humans in the area either. Niklos was gone, the three trainers were asleep, Machop had come back with its energy drained, and Chris hadn't been in the tent for very long either so what could it be?

"Wait a minute Chris, send out Machop again," Kyle told his underling. "There might be an explanation after all." When Chris had done so, Kyle commanded Machop to use its foresight on the area around the tents. Kyle also noted that while it was still drained, it also seemed healthier again. As Machop's gaze passed over the campground a face suddenly appeared within a dark cloud. "A Gastly!" Kyle exclaimed. He tossed a poké ball of his own revealing a black creature with yellow markings on its athletic body.

"Umbreon, faint attack!" Kyle told it. Umbreon leaped toward Gastly and struck it hard causing Gastly to dash in the opposite direction. "It's trying to escape! Use pursuit!" Umbreon charged quickly toward Gastly again at a speed that was too fast to avoid. It swept past Gastly while striking with an attack that was unseen. "Faint attack once more now!"

"Confuse it!"

As Umbreon leapt toward Gastly the ghost Pokémon's eyes flashed a bright white beam toward Umbreon which stopped the move from succeeding. The bright light was intensified even more in the darkness and Kyle could briefly see where the command had come from. The hunter had appeared at the entrance to the tent and didn't seem to have had an unplanned awakening from the battle. Emerging from the tent behind him was the boy who also seemed wide awake. Sadly the light gave Kyle a headache since he was still wearing the night vision goggles, causing him to be briefly disoriented.

"The hunter!" Kyle exclaimed while waiting for his vision to return. "You were awake all along, weren't you?"

"Dog it," the hunter said to his Pokémon. Gastly came closer to Umbreon and licked it across the face. Umbreon fell over in paralysis forcing Kyle to switch it out. The hunter in turn also pulled Gastly from battle and replaced it with a fierce Houndoom.

Having the advantage of knowing what Pokémon his opponent would be battling with, Kyle sent out a real battle tank of a Pokémon. Fighting for his team was a towering gray Pokémon with a rock body which stood upright and had a large pointed horn on its face. This was intended to be his trump card, but he couldn't afford to let the battle draw out. Kyle needed to incapacitate the trainer and his Pokémon at the same time.

"Rhydon, stone edge!" he ordered. His Pokémon charged the hunter's Houndoom with an impressive speed for a Pokémon built as it was. It tore up a large pointed rock from the ground as it closed the distance intending to impale Houndoom on the spot, but at the last minute the Houndoom evaded on an order from its trainer. "Hammer arm!" Rhydon dropped the weapon to swing its whole arm in a wide arc at Houndoom. The attack struck Houndoom's side, sending it flying an impressive distance. "Now use a rock blast!" Kyle yelled with excitement. For a dangerous trainer, the hunter seemed to be losing this battle spectacularly. Rhydon grabbed the rock again and lofted it toward the fallen Houndoom then grabbed two more nearby rocks and tossed them as well. Unable to evade the strikes, Houndoom was struck with all three. Given that each rock broke on impact, the damage must have been considerable. "This is too easy. Finish that Houndoom with your horn drill!" Rhydon roared and charged the fallen Houndoom. As it ran, its main horn began to spin at increasing speeds until a high pitched whine could be heard. When this attack connected, Houndoom would be unable to battle for days if not permanently. He looked toward the hunter with a wide grin even though the other trainer couldn't see him. He expected to see a look of desperation, but instead he saw confidence and as Rhydon closed the distance a victorious smile of his own came into view. Kyle looked back at the Houndoom and saw that it didn't appear as injured as he had originally thought. In fact it was watching and analyzing his Rhydon's movements as was the hunter. Then he noted that they hadn't attacked since the battle started. They'd been analyzing Rhydon's every movement and attack from the beginning! Kyle called out for Rhydon to stop, but it was too late. From that distance and the shrieking sound of the horn drill Rhydon could not hear its trainer.

The hunter swept an arm to the side which was Houndoom's cue to move. It dodged the attack effortlessly while Rhydon's horn drilled into the ground and got stuck. "Bite the leg!" the hunter commanded now that his voice could be heard. Houndoom easily reached Rhydon's leg and bit into it hard from behind. Rhydon fell to its knees. "On the back!" Houndoom leapt onto Rhydon's back and bit down again. This time the attack was a fire fang strike which left a dangerous burn. Rhydon tore its horn from the ground and began to try shaking Houndoom loose from its back since it couldn't stand up from the leg injury. In response Houndoom clung to the side of Rhydon's head and used a point blank flamethrower on Rhydon's face. Rhydon roared in pain but reached out to grab Houndoom and then threw it to the ground. The attacks had lessened Rhydon's effectiveness and the pain from the burn had lowered Rhydon's attacking power as well. However it was still a strong battler, able to match and defeat Houndoom even in its weakened state. "Okay Houndoom, get some help now. Use your beat up attack!" Houndoom moved quickly before Rhydon or Kyle could react. It struck Rhydon in the chest, then ran to the side and struck again. As it did, Kyle could see a brief flash of another Pokémon's face. He recognized it as the hunter's Infernape.

This unique move called on the trainer's entire Pokémon team to boost an otherwise weak attack. The ending damage would be multiplied by the number of Pokémon the trainer was carrying at the time and each Pokémon's face could be briefly seen around Houndoom each time the user struck as their strength was added. The attack had a downside however. When it was used, the entire trainer's team could be seen as well as revealing how many Pokémon they carried. If the hunter was indeed carrying one of Bill's rare Pokémon and Kyle hadn't seen it, he would find out what it was this time. It would probably be the last one shown so Kyle paid close attention to the Pokémon he saw while Houndoom's attack continued.

After Infernape was a small pink Cleffa, then the Gastly from before bringing the count to four. After that came a Dugtrio and the sixth attack was a lowly Fearow. Kyle was disappointed that he didn't have the Pokémon he wanted after all, but strangely Houndoom's attack continued! The next strike was a Totodile, probably the one he had seen in the tent which gave Houndoom a total of seven attacks. Kyle was sure that was the end of it, but there was one more attack still to come. Houndoom's final strike was nothing short of brutal and it drove Rhydon back two paces. And the Pokémon's face associated with the impossible attack power? Kyle didn't recognize it. It was safe to say though that whatever that final Pokémon was, it was a good thing the hunter hadn't used it in this battle. The face of that Pokémon was terrible enough alone, but the violent and bloodthirsty expression it added to the mix was enough for Kyle to feel a wave of horror rush through his body. It also told him that it would be a very very bad idea to let this battle draw out to the point where the hunter would use whatever Pokémon that was.

Seeing that the attack was over Kyle called out, "Okay Rhydon, finish this now. Earthquake attack!" Rhydon rose up so it could stomp both feet, then pounded the ground with both arms. The attack was widely known as the ultimate ground type move, and was a sure ending to almost any battle. The attack sent tremors through the ground that were unavoidable unless the opponent was in the air. Halfway through the attack the hunter returned Houndoom to its poké ball in an attempt to minimize the damage received. Based on the fact that the other trainer could visually identify his Pokémon in the darkness, Kyle assumed his eyes had adjusted considerably in the dark. Before Kyle could turn Rhydon on the hunter a new Pokémon was already sent out. This time it was the Dugtrio and not the Infernape he was expecting.

"Dugtrio, sand attack now!" the hunter commanded before Kyle could devise a strategy. Sand was expertly tossed up into Rhydon's eyes from ground level, though how Dugtrio managed it without any hands was anyone's guess. As Rhydon struggled with the loss of vision the hunter attacked again. "Finish the battle now! Fissure strike!"

Kyle felt his blood drain from his face. Rhydon was too occupied with the effects of sand attack to evade the next hit and Dugtrio's attacks were so fast that he wouldn't have time to recall his Pokémon before the hit. With Rhydon unable to move out of the way he was about to lose his best fighter.

Dugtrio's heads vanished underground faster than could be seen. Immediately after that a tremor could be felt which resulted in a crack in the ground rapidly moving toward Rhydon. As the fissure went underfoot, the ground around his Pokémon broke apart to drop Rhydon into a perfectly sized hole. After it had fallen halfway inside the crack the ground snapped shut, crushing Rhydon's body. Though the attack was simple enough, the damage done to Rhydon was so severe that it was knocked out immediately. Fissure was an attack that guaranteed an instant victory if it succeeded. The damage was comparable to the horn drill attack Rhydon had used earlier, but they both had the disadvantage of painfully low accuracy. With Rhydon unable to move away in time, the fissure attack was a perfect choice for the situation. Frustrated, Kyle returned Rhydon to the poké ball it came from. He was about to send out a new attacker when he looked in the hunter's direction to see Infernape speeding toward him with fist extended. The mach punch knocked him out cleanly.

With the second intruder fallen, Akuma knew there was only one more left. Gastly had awakened him earlier to warn him of three intruders closing in on the camp. As they had approached the tent he pretended to be talking in his sleep in order to instruct Gastly to use its curse attack on them as they entered as well as steal a healing potion or berry to stay healthy. While they were away from the tent Akuma used those potions and berries as well as his own to keep Gastly in good health. When one of them had taken a poké ball from Chad, he knew that the effects were taking a heavier toll on the body from constant exposure to the curse based on the man's condition. From a distance the hold would break so the effects were only inside the tent although side effects might continue for a short while anyway. When the intruder had fallen down, Akuma couldn't let him regain him senses and get away with Chad's poké ball. He had quickly rushed over and knocked him out with a strike to the back of the head, then hid him under his own blanket in the corner and under the tent opening where no one would notice. After the first one had come in, Akuma had awakened Chad and warned him of what was happening so he could have backup in case he needed it. After the poké ball thief was knocked down, Akuma had Chad pocket the poké ball instead of returning it to his belt. After receiving potions, Gastly would go outside to let them know when the intruders were coming back. When they had heard sounds of battle they ran out quickly. By this time their eyes had adjusted significantly to the dark so they could recognize where the enemy was, but not good enough that they could spot the third attacker. Not wanting his Pokémon out in the open without knowing where the last enemy was, Akuma recalled them to their respective poké balls.

"Over here," came a voice from their left.

Akuma turned to see the shape of the last of the trio standing beside Akashi's tent. Beside him was a larger creature he couldn't identify without sufficient lighting.

"Let's not make things any more difficult than they already are. I want the poké ball given to you by the collector, Bill. If you don't cooperate, I will use my Camerupt's flames to burn down the tent with your comrade still inside as well as all your provisions. I also want the third member of our group returned to us if possible. I assume since you've obviously been awake all this time you would know where he is."

"Okay boy, listen carefully," Akuma whispered to Chad as he slipped Dugtrio's poké ball into the other's hand. "He can't see the entrance of the tent from where he is. Act like you're going into the tent, but go behind it and release Dugtrio. Tell it to burrow under Camerupt and wait for my signal." Then more loudly he said, "Go get him what he wants, Chad. The poké ball is resting beside Totodile. Also see if you can drag out his partner too while you're at it. Come get me if you need help." Under his breath he added, "Come back after you release Dugtrio to ask for my help. Have Elekid's poké ball in your hand to replace the illusion of Dugtrio's poké ball." Chad quickly rushed around to the rear of the tent and out of sight.

"He's a little young to be traveling with someone as notorious as you, isn't he?" the other man asked Akuma after Chad had disappeared.

"He's a perfectly capable trainer," Akuma replied. He's a prodigy when it comes to learning about and raising Pokémon. I'm helping to teach the child how to become the best just like he wants to be. He is making great progress in a short period of time."

"Does he know who he's learning from?"

"He's learning from me obviously. Haven't we already established that?"

"I meant from someone with your reputation and background. You've got quite a record back at headquarters for your work here in the Kanto region. We weren't sure what to think when you vanished for a few years. Where were you by the way?"

"I was traveling and training myself in the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions if you must know. There is much knowledge and experience to be gained by leaving a territory you are familiar with. You could learn many things by going out of your way to learn somewhere by yourself among different cultures and new varieties of Pokémon. The Kanto region doesn't have enough in it to teach everyone to become the person they were meant to be."

"What about the Johto region? You never mentioned it."

"Johto is a different place where my travels have not yet led me to go. When the time is right I will set out for new challenges there. For the time being, however, I am needed here."

"I got the poké ball, but I can't take the man out of the tent on my own," Chad said as he reappeared from around the corner. "He's too big for me to drag out without hurting my shoulder. I'll need some help getting him out here."

"Any chance you'd let me disappear for a while?" Akuma asked.

"Not a chance. The boy has Pokémon of his own. He can use their help."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Chad said while laughing at himself. "Sorry about being absentminded. I'll go back in and bring him out again."

"Hold that thought, boy. You might want to see something," Akuma said knowing Dugtrio was in place. "There's a Pokémon move that you might want to see. It's a difficult one to teach and pull off due to variations in Pokémon who can learn it, but this showing is unique to the one who has learned it I believe."

"What are you planning?" the man said with a suspicious tone.

"Nothing at all, to be honest; quite the opposite in fact. You're the one holding our teammate hostage and there's nothing we can do about it from here," Akuma said quite simply. "By the time I could reach for the poké balls on my chest you will have already commanded Camerupt to burn down the tent. I only know that in half a moment there will be a Pokémon attack that looks quite interesting because of the one who is using it. I want the boy to, as best he can in this lighting, witness it for what it is. It's also very entertaining as long as you aren't the one being attacked. It's a rock type move that not only inflicts damage, but lowers the opponent's speed as well. A most handy attack for anyone, don't you agree? The attack is named, rock tomb!"

As Akuma finished the words a jagged rock jutted out of the ground in front of Camerupt. The creature jumped in surprise and backed up into another rock tearing up from the ground. Two more came up from either side trapping it in place. The rocks then squeezed in tightly around Camerupt while it tried gasping for air. The attack took no more than two or three seconds. The man jumped away from his Pokémon in surprise. Before Akuma could grab Infernape's poké ball for another fast knockout, a slender form lashed out from Kurishimi's tent at the man. He fell to the ground allowing Akuma and Chad to run over. Wrapped around him was an Ekans. They looked toward the other tent to see the third member of their team sitting inside the tent lifting up the flap to look out.

"You boys are too loud out here. How's a girl to get any sleep?"


	23. Old Wounds

After Ekans had subdued the third member of the group the three trainers tied them up together by the light of Infernape's flames. They placed them on a small dirt mound in the center of a pool of acid Ekans had created, the wide moat area being a courtesy of Dugtrio. They had also removed the enemy's poké balls, setting them outside the pool a few yards away. Additionally, Gastly kept watch over them the rest of the night until morning came. Having been very active from the night before however, the three trainers ended up sleeping until almost noon due to exhaustion; Akuma in particular was especially tired. After packing up camp Gastly used hypnosis on the trio before Akuma's group left once again for Vermillion city.

It was a silent trip as they stuck to the main road. Totodile occasionally ran off the path to speak with other Pokémon but returned to the group quickly enough. Akuma kept an eye on it the whole time. When lunch time came around the group foraged for various berries on a nearby berry patch. Akuma had Infernape mash some berries and boil them with a calm fire to make some oran soup. Chad stuck with some pecha berries instead since they were more of a healthy dessert. Kurishimi was lucky enough to find a bluk berry patch and also remembered to wash her mouth after she had finished. Totodile ran around sampling various berries from each bush. When it finally found some it liked, Akuma picked a few berries to analyze Totodile's tastes when they came to the next Pokémon Center.

"Hey Akuma," Kurishimi asked while they were eating, "why do you battle and train Pokémon?"

"Why do you ask?" Akuma said without looking up from the soup he was making.

"It was something I was thinking about last night before I fell asleep the first time. I'm training my Pokémon because I enjoy it and like being with them while Chad's got the goal to be the best trainer in the world. Our motives are clear, but I've never figured yours out. Why do you train Pokémon?" She was trying to be somewhat friendly, but the incident from the night before still disturbed her. She wouldn't even look up from her meal while she spoke to him. Akuma didn't notice however as he kept his eyes on his own food.

"Does it really matter what my motives are? My job is to train you, nothing more than that."

"I know, but I feel like I should know you a little bit better after traveling with you for so long. I thought I had you figured out, but because of the aftermath from your encounter with Raikou, the way you take care of Totodile, and last night's training I'm not so sure anymore."

"My personal motives and habits shouldn't be a factor in our time together. I'm your teacher, nothing more."

"And is that all that I can expect from you? Shouldn't there be trust between teacher and student?"

"You don't trust me then?"

"You aren't exactly giving me peace of mind, much less any reasons for trust out of good faith. You keep way too many secrets from me and I find it very hard to know what it is you're thinking or plan to do. I never know whether I can expect bitterness, cruelness, indifference, sympathy, friendship, lies, or honesty. You've even grown more distant lately and I'm concerned about how long our relationship will last, if it can even be called that."

"Everyone has secrets, Akashi."

"And you have enough to spread around the crew of the St. Anne. Akuma, I don't know what to think about you anymore. It's like you're turning into more of an enemy than someone I can trust."

"So you think I'll turn on you soon?"

"I told you I don't know what to think anymore which is why I brought this up in the first place. You don't seem to have any motive for turning against me, but lately it's like you're more of a danger than an ally."

"Part of your training is learning to stand on your own. In time I won't be around and you will have to stand up for yourself without anyone there to help you. I don't plan to stick around for your entire journey to collect badges then give you an enchanted necklace and send you off on your own into a climactic sunset after reciting a haiku. In time, we will be required to part ways. For every meeting, there must be a farewell. When that time comes you will have no choice but to journey on your own and make your own path. There is only so much you can learn from me before my teachings are irrelevant to you. When you arrive at the point where you can only get better by training yourself there will be no one to fall back on for support because in your own way you will be the best you can be. Even so, there is always room for improvement. It will be up to you on how to find what you lack and what you have too much of."

"I know that, but even so I would prefer to know my teacher a little bit better if I have to trust him with my Pokémon's growth and development as well as my own. I can't exactly follow you on this entire journey based on your skills and promises."

"We had a similar conversation like this shortly after we began traveling together, did we not?"

"I remember it of course. You told me to just trust you since I couldn't get any worse than I already was. I let it go at the time, but the training has been getting more severe lately. You can't expect me to put all my trust in someone I hardly know can you? To be honest the only thing I've really learned about you is that your alias according to members of Team Rocket is 'the hunter'. For whatever reason you have that, it isn't any of my business and if you wanted me to forget it I would, but if that's the only thing I've learned about you lately then it's pretty hard to ignore; especially when I travel with you every day. You've gotta admit that's pretty unfair to me."

Akuma silently stirred his soup while she presented her case to him. He knew it wasn't fair of him to keep this much information from her in the first place, but it was hard to tell her anything, much less know where to begin. His personal life was so much of a secret that he didn't even speak to his peers about it. After the incident in Hoenn a few years back he'd achieved his fifteen minutes of fame among well-known trainers and authorities which was partially the reason why gym leaders seemed to know him. He didn't like being known as a legend among trainers at the time, nor did he enjoy the popularity very much either, though it was nice to know other people weren't taking undue credit any more when he had the spotlight. When his fame had risen to what he considered intolerable levels he'd tried to go into hiding until people began to forget about him as other trainers took the stage in recent news: Wallace becoming the Hoenn champion, three young trainers assisting the Sinnoh champion during the Team Galactic crisis on Mt. Coronet, the invention of a machine that could reanimate Pokémon fossils, all of these and more quickly pushed him into anonymity again. He wasn't looking forward to spreading more rumors about himself for elevation in the public eye again, even if they were true, but he was dishonoring his student by not giving information about himself, especially since she had been so open and forward with him since the beginning. When he had caught Ariados as a Spinarak back when he had Magmar she was defiant toward the way he'd treated his Pokémon and didn't even cringe when he looked at her like others did. She had spirit, and he respected her for that. But in contrast he'd been disrespecting her by keeping her in the dark on purpose. He owed her some answers at least.

Akuma finished preparing his soup and returned Infernape to its poké ball. He turned toward Kurishimi and tasted his soup before he spoke. "All right, I can give you some answers. What do you want to know?"

Kurishimi looked up at him with a face of surprise and hope. "I can ask you anything then?"

"You may ask, but I may not answer everything. I would prefer to keep some secrets of course."

She smiled slightly at him then turned in his direction. "Okay then, answer my original question. What is your purpose in Pokémon training?"

"To get better at it."

Kurishimi rolled her eyes. "You've already passed that point a number of times. Give me a better answer than that."

"What would you want to hear? That I was once earning badges like you and the boy were when I first started out? That I may have been a Pokémon breeder but failed at that path and am now on a journey to find something new to do? Perhaps that I was even a Pokémon master once upon a time, or a hardened criminal? That with all the great personal achievements I found in life I continually caused greater harm to the Pokémon and humans around me every day?"

"What I want is the truth," Kurishimi said in a serious, yet respectful tone.

"I have no purpose at the moment like you do," Akuma finally admitted. "I have goals and dreams that I aspire to make come true, but unlike many Pokémon trainers of the world I do not fall under the classic categories that many have decided to join. I was once a trainer like you, yes. In fact I had collected two badges before abandoning that path. At the time I was less experienced than the boy. To be honest I only won my badges by pure luck. Everywhere else I went I was frequently the loser in battles. I learned much in every loss, but never got any farther in my training. I had no one to teach me, so I returned home a failure. I released many of my Pokémon back into the wild while keeping only a select few that I had a particularly strong bond with and never went back to battling gyms again. I had the opportunities in other regions, but never took the chance.

"Instead I became a jack-of-trades when it came to Pokémon. I learned as much as I could about each little thing but never pursued a particular path. Even now I don't have a long-term achievement I want to fulfill. I have many things I want to accomplish in my life, some I probably never will, but I doubt that I will have the chance again."

"Wow," Kurishimi said when Akuma stopped to have some soup. "I never would have suspected that much about you. You don't seem interested in gym badges or battling at all except when Team Rocket is involved. How are you connected to them anyway? You seem quite strong willed whenever they're involved, so what's the history between you and them?"

"It's a very long story and I would rather avoid details on that subject. I can tell you however, that one of their highest priorities is to capture me for their leader. I've been causing them problems for as long as I've been able, so it's pretty much guaranteed that they would be thrilled to get rid of me should the opportunity present itself."

"Did you do something to upset them?"

"No, they upset me. I won't share details, but know that I won't rest until the leader of Team Rocket has been arrested and they are guaranteed to not rise again. Team Rocket has had many leaders over the years, each more dangerous than the last, save one. They have gotten more and more out of control each time they rise up, but now they have increased their activities to the point where it is impossible to ignore their works any longer. I am the biggest threat to their activities as of late. If I am removed then they will remain virtually unchecked in everything they do."

"So it's a personal vendetta against them, right?"

"It's very personal, yes." Something in the way Akuma said that phrase told her there was more to it than he was letting on, but she shouldn't pry anymore. "That's enough for today. We should get moving if we want to make it to Vermillion City by nightfall."

Totodile cleaned the bowl Akuma used with a light water gun that wasn't much more than a sprinkling of water before the four of them continued down the road. Akuma soon noticed that Totodile appeared bored so he pulled an oran berry from his side pouch and threw it ahead of them. "Totodile, water gun!" Totodile looked up and fired a glob of water at the berry. The shot missed completely. "I said water gun, not snot bubble attack," Akuma told it. He picked up the berry when they came near and threw it again. This time Totodile fired a short burst of water toward it, but missed again. "Apparently you're still inexperienced with using water gun. Try cutting the berry down the middle with scratch instead." Akuma tossed the berry toward Totodile who successfully cut the berry straight through. Akuma let it eat the berry slices that dropped.

Knowing Chad had passed the Pokémon exam in Saffron, Akuma asked the boy about different battling strategies. His questions progressed in difficulty so he could find out how much the boy had learned in his absence. He had promised to train the boy as best he could within the time he had, and planned to keep his word. Shortly into the tougher questions the boy began to ask questions of his own as well.

"How would you capture a ghost Pokémon?"

Akuma raised an eyebrow at the young boy. "Why a ghost Pokémon?"

"Ghosts can pass through solid objects and manipulate the area around them can't they? How could you strike them with a poké ball?"

"Ghost Pokémon aren't like the suspected ghosts of people. They can take a physical form and can be struck by solid objects. They could be struck if you tried clubbing them with a plank of wood should you manage to somehow surprise them, but for the most part any surprise attack is required if you want to guarantee that your physical attacks will connect. Provided they have ample time however, they can simply pass through the poké ball without harm."

"What about dragon Pokémon? They're tough and hard to find, so how would I catch one of those?"

Akuma laughed to himself while Kurishimi did a double take to stare at him with wide eyes. "Now why would you want to know something like that? Dragons are very difficult to find, battle, and even capture. Trainers can search their whole lives and probably never find a dragon Pokémon in the wild, much less a trainer who has one that you could expect to battle. I don't think you'd have to worry about dragon Pokémon for a very long time."

"Maybe, but I'm asking you right now. I'd rather be prepared now than later."

Akuma nodded in approval of Chad's reply. "Good answer, kid. They aren't easy to fight. You either need to hit them with dragon or ice type moves or have a steel Pokémon to defend against their attacks. Dragons are vicious fighters with the skill to match their notoriety. I expected Gyarados to be named a dragon type by researchers, but I guess it wasn't strong enough so it was classified as a water-flying type Pokémon. As to why it became part flying I'll never know."

"Whoa, hold on there a moment. You're saying that dragon types are even stronger than a Gyarados?"

"That's correct. Gyarados can learn some dragon type moves but it isn't a dragon type Pokémon. Actually the same can be said for my Charizard. Even though it's not a dragon type it knows a few dragon moves and has a dragon appearance. Pokémon like them can be a good offense against dragons for that reason, but if you can't hold your own against a Gyarados, wild or otherwise, your best bet is to just run away very fast. If you can't do that just cripple them with various status effects to the best of your ability and then assault them with your strongest attacks until they fall. Or do the first part before running away. Oh yes, and don't get hit. Much pain follows if you fail to follow this rule."

"Oh man, I am so not going to enjoy those kinds of battles. Have you ever fought a dragon type before?"

Akuma's expression changed to a look of hurt and he looked back toward the road in front of them. "Yes. I have fought dragons before." His voice told that the memory Chad had brought up was causing great pain.

Kurishimi looked at him silently from behind. She knew what he was thinking and kept quiet. Chad however, did not get the hint.

"No kidding? What was it like? Did you capture it, or was it a trainer battle? That must've been a real tough battle for you."

Akuma was quiet for a second before saying, "Drop it."

"Huh? What's wrong? Did I say someth-"

"I said drop it!" Akuma yelled. He turned toward Chad angrily with a deranged look of fury. Chad stepped away from him quickly and very frightened. Kurishimi quickly jumped over to Akuma and held him back.

"Hey, let it go. He didn't know, okay?"

Akuma glared at her, but his expression softened. He turned away from them both and walked over to the side of the road and sat down. Totodile was frightened after seeing who it knew to be a calm and caring trainer to have suddenly shown a violent side.

Kurishimi leaned over to talk to Chad softly. "It wasn't your fault, don't worry. I'd suggest not bringing up dragon Pokémon again though. Akuma doesn't have very fond memories of the dragon types."

Chad nodded in hasty agreement. After a few moments Akuma stood up and walked a few paces ahead of them before calling back, "We've lost time again. Let's go." With that he started walking down the road again with the three others in tow behind him at a respectful distance. Kurishimi couldn't tell from his tone how he was feeling at the point. Akuma had been sure not to show them his face after standing.


	24. The Lightning American

Kurishimi woke up the next morning in Vermillion City's Pokémon Center. Akuma and Chad were still fast asleep so she picked up her poké balls and went out for a walk with Vaporeon. Vermillion had been built into the side of a cliff, giving them an impressive view of the ocean as well as being able to look both down and up over the city. The two of them walked through the streets looking at various stores and stalls that had not yet opened until they stumbled upon the entrance to the Vermillion city gym.

"Huh. I didn't think we'd end up here of all places," Kurishimi said out loud.

"It's not quite as big a city as Saffron," Vaporeon replied. "I was thinking you wanted to be here."

"No way. I didn't prepare my team for a gym battle before I left. I just grabbed a few that haven't been out in a while."

"Sounds like a viable reason for a gym battle to me. Most of them haven't been in many battles, much less important ones like gym battling."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I don't want to go in."

"Oh suck it up girl," Vaporeon chided her friend, "if you want to get better then what better place to start with something hard like this?"

"That's true. I guess we'll have to go in I suppose."

"Smart girl. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Well you could get put into critical condition since this is an electric type gym," Kurishimi said as she pushed open the doors.

"Wait, electric types?" Vaporeon said with wide eyes as she chased after her trainer.

For the most part the gym was abandoned; probably because it was still early morning. Kurishimi searched the halls looking for a caretaker to find out when the gym leader would be in until she stumbled upon the kitchen. Inside was a giant of a man cooking up breakfast; an omelet from what she could tell.

"Ah, pardon me," Kurishimi said politely and quietly so she wouldn't startle him. "Could you please tell me when the gym will be open for battles?"

The man turned in her direction and smiled widely. "The gym will be opened just as soon as I've made myself breakfast. Can't go into battle hungry after all if you know what I mean."

"Oh, are you the gym leader then?"

The man pointed at a belt of poké balls hanging beside the door. "Got that right, sweetheart. Those babies over there are my combatants. They got into the poké-chow earlier so they've had some food already. Didn't even make their poor trainer any grub."

"I-I see," Kurishimi said nervously. The idea of having to battle a giant of a man was making her a little nervous, but his friendly demeanor helped to keep her calm. Apparently he was used to people's reactions upon seeing him judging by the way he spoke to her.

"Ah yes, you may call me Surge by the way. I used to be Lt. Surge, but that was way back in a war long forgotten. Don't call me Mr. Surge though. It makes my name sound like a soft drink." He loudly and extended a hand to Kurishimi who accepted the handshake comfortably.

"My name is Kurishimi Akashi. Glad to meet you, Surge."

"The pleasure is mine, I'm sure. Have a seat if you're hungry, I have extra food if you'd like some."

"Oh no, that's not necessary. I'll eat after the battle when I get back to the center with my friends."

"Nonsense! I did just say that you can't have a gym battle on an empty stomach didn't I? Come on, have a seat and I'll have you fed up in no time, ha, ha!"

Kurishimi took a seat reluctantly as Surge served her one of the omelets he'd made. She was uncomfortable and felt like she was imposing, but she soon relaxed and the two of them were chatting in between bites like they were old friends. Surge described some of the tougher challengers he'd faced at the gym while Kurishimi told him about her travels as well as news about what was happening outside Vermillion City. Surge was troubled at the news of Team Rocket's sudden increase in activity, but was pleased to hear that all the times Kurishimi had encountered them they had failed in their work. He especially grew excited when he heard of Kurishimi's teacher defeating the Tyranitar trainer in Saffron, though Kurishimi had forgotten to mention him by name.

"So you're traveling with this master teacher and the two of you are teaching another young trainer so he can defeat your teacher in a match which he believes is important regarding his goal to become the best trainer, correct?"

"Confusing, I know," Kurishimi said with a smile, "but we've only been with Chad for a week and a half and he was able to move up to the intermediate battle stages in Saffron's battle arenas in a short time. He's got raw talent. Enough to make me somewhat jealous sometimes I'll admit. Uh, don't tell him I said that last part though."

"Of course, of course; all trainers have their pride, I know. By the way, what about your trainer's name? Maybe I know of him."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you have heard his name before since most people in the Pokémon trade in some way or another get déjà vu at the sight of him. His name's Akuma."

"Akuma is it? You mean as in Akuma Masurao?"

"Yeah, that's him. Do you know of him then?"

Surge slapped the table in amusement, though with his size he might as well have punched it instead. "Ha! Of course I know that brat! He's come by my gym frequently because his Magmar had a rivalry against my Electabuzz. Oh, I haven't seen him in years though. He never did get along with that Magmar so I assumed he released it. Do you know what happened to it?"

"Released it? Why would Akuma release one of his toughest Pokémon? I know he'd occasionally fight against it and he even beat it up sometimes, but I don't think he'd let a strong Pokémon like that go."

"Well at least I know he's kept it then. Sounds like those two still aren't getting along though. Hey, are you alright?"

Kurishimi was looking down uncomfortably. Her thoughts were on the last time she'd seen Akuma's spitfire Pokémon. The two of them had gotten into a heated fight which she tried to ignore by walking away for a while. When she came back later, Akuma was alone. She hadn't ever considered the fact that Akuma had gotten fed up with his Pokémon and simply released it out of spite. Lately his mind seemed occupied with his thoughts drifting off elsewhere. Was he really thinking about having released a Pokémon that he didn't want to? He did mention losing control of Metagross recently and she didn't think it was present when the Rocket members had attacked them the other night.

"Did Akuma have a habit of release his Pokémon frequently?" she asked.

"Oh sure, he's let a bunch of Pokémon go over the years. Let's see, first there was a Hippowdon that he gave to the safari zone warden, a Machoke that he released back into the wild, a Venomoth was released at the same time and place as Machoke, and he gave me a Manectric that I'd been admiring for some time. He's probably released a few others over the years. I never saw his Fearow after his Charmeleon evolved into Charizard of course. Man, I wish I could've been there for that battle when it happened."

"No, he still has Fearow. I didn't know about it until two days ago however. He has Charizard too."

Surge looked into the hallway then leaned in closer to Kurishimi. "So uh, tell me this then. Does he still have that mysterious number seven with him still, or did he pass it on to someone else?"

"Yeah, he's got it all the time. You know about it?"

"Know about it? I helped clean up the whole area it had trashed before Akuma caught it. Now I appreciate Pokémon evolution and all that, I'm even happy for the Pokémon that become stronger by doing so, but that's one Pokémon I wish had never evolved. I know it's cruel of me to say so, but it's true."

They sat in their chairs staring at empty plates for a moment in silence before Surge rose up and tossed their plates in a pile with other dishes then moved toward the door. "Well come on, sweetheart. You've got a gym battle to fight don't you? Let's go!"

"Ah, you're right. I'm coming!" Kurishimi said before following him down the hall, but her thoughts were still on Akuma. Could he really have released his Pokémon out of anger?

Surge brought Kurishimi to the main battle room which was basic in design with stadium lights illuminating the battlefield. After turning on the lights and checking the condition of the grounds, Surge took his place at the gym leader's side of the battlefield.

"How does a classic three on three match sound?" Surge called.

"Works for me. Let's do it!" Kurishimi called back while thinking frantically about what Pokémon she had that might be able to take whatever Surge brought out. When he quickly grabbed his poké ball and threw it she grabbed the first Pokémon that she could think of to not appear unready.

Surge's Pokémon was a curious sort. It resembled a poké ball, but the colors were reversed. There was no button on the front of it either. Instead it had a face with a cocky grin. Kurishimi's reply Pokémon was Oddish.

This time she didn't have to reach for her pokédex to figure out what Pokémon it was. Surge's lead Pokémon was a very fast Pokémon called Electrode. Or as had been nicknamed by many who witnessed its infamous explosion attack: bomb ball. Electrode was known to be a Pokémon that would explode at the slightest provocation. It could react very fast to anything even if its movement was slower than most. It didn't have to move to use electric attacks however. Choosing to start the battle with Electrode made the Pokémon that would follow hard to predict.

"Electrode, use a sonicboom on Oddish!" Surge commanded.

"Oddish, begin with sweet scent," Kurishimi said nervously.

While Oddish wafted a sweet smelling fragrance toward Electrode its opponent fired stable shockwaves toward the little weed. Electrode became distracted by the smell while Oddish took the blast in full. Oddish flipped backward from the impact but managed to land on its feet. After the initial attacks the battle escalated while both trainers attempted to halt the other's progress. Oddish couldn't close the distance without risking damage from a self-sacrificing detonation from Electrode and Electrode couldn't close the distance for the same reasons. Electrode's strategy was using long range electric attacks after shaking its opponent with sonicboom while staying put in one place while Oddish varied between dodging attacks and taking root in the ground to bypass electricity damage. Surge was obviously the favorite to win this match, especially with Kurishimi using Pokémon that didn't see battle very often. Oddish was more of the friendly and helpful type of Pokémon. She had wanted to give it a day in a new city, not push its strengths in a gym battle.

"Oddish, fire acid at Electrode!" Kurishimi yelled.

Oddish's leaves curled together before it lowered what it had for a head at Electrode. When the leaves snapped open a glob of rotten sludge went flying toward Electrode. Before it could roll away the acid struck Electrode in the face and stuck.

"Electrode, fire a swift toward Oddish's location," Surge commanded.

Stars with a varying number of points formed in the air around Electrode before launching toward Oddish. Even though Electrode was briefly blinded, the attack was guaranteed to hit no matter what. Damage was minimal, but still prevented Oddish from following up the acid attack with another.

"Now use a point blank screech."

Electrode instantly emitted a shriek from within that forced the acid to melt away from its eyes. Now fully able to see again, Electrode fired a charge beam toward the stunned Oddish. The quick strikes would have finished Oddish right then had Oddish not fallen over before the charge beam reached it. The blast flew over Oddish's head to hit the wall harmlessly.

Enough was enough. Kurishimi withdrew Oddish and brought out a Pokémon that had not only never been in a gym battle, but had never been in any battles at all! Her new Pokémon was pink with an egg-shaped body. On its head was some thick hair outgrowth while the arms and legs were very short and without digits. On its belly was a pouch where a large egg sat.

"We'll start things off right this time. Chansey, begin minimizing!" Kurishimi said confidently. Chansey slowly began to diminish in size.

"That's not a good thing on my end," Surge said to himself. "Electrode, use another sonicboom!" Electrode fired the shockwaves again at Chansey, but they swept past harmlessly. "That's also not good," he said in a lower voice.

"This is better. Now Chansey I need for you to trust me on this and move quickly, understand?" Chansey gave a single nod. "Good. Now rush Electrode as fast as you can manage while avoiding its attacks. Continue to use minimize as you go. Be careful and listen for my command when I tell you to, got it? Now run!"

Chansey was afraid to get in close to the bomb ball, but did as she was instructed. Electrode fired multiple electric attacks while Chansey closed the distance and continued to shrink. After a few rounds the electric attacks were exchanged for swift again which guaranteed a hit but seemed to do even less damage to Chansey than Oddish. Finally when Chansey was a few feet away Kurishimi gave her final command.

"Grab Electrode and use fling. Throw Electrode straight into the wall to your left!"

Using what little arm strength she had, Chansey grabbed Electrode tightly. The roughness of the forced grab caused Electrode to shake slightly as it tried containing the explosion from within until Chansey hurled it with amazing strength into the wall. Immediately Electrode glowed a brilliant white and violently exploded. It was far enough from the others that no damage was done, but the detonation caused Electrode to faint right away.

"That was unbelievable!" Surge exclaimed after recalling Electrode to its poké ball. "Akuma would have been proud of that maneuver for sure! Alright then, try fighting someone more agile now. Not many can stand up to this brute the first time through." So saying, he threw a worn poké ball out.

The new combatant was a fat orange mouse that stood on its hind legs. It had a long thin tail with a stretched lightning bolt at the end and its ears were also stretched out long as well with a curl on the end.

"Raichu, use thunderbolt!"

"Ack! Um, Chansey use… light screen!" Kurishimi said in a panic.

Chansey barely got up the protective barrier before Raichu's thunderbolt reached her. Half the damage was absorbed by the light screen, but even then the damage appeared to be minimal.

"That Chansey is a tough one alright," Surge commented. "It might be more of a challenge if it wasn't so panicky. Raichu, get in close and use thunderpunch!"

Kurishimi quickly recalled Chansey before Raichu could begin to charge her Pokémon. She was trying not to reply to Surge's comments because in truth Chansey couldn't take a hit very well at all. It had great defense against distance attacks, but anything up close would've done severe damage. Since the light screen was still up she sent Oddish back out. The little weed was still very hurt from Electrode's bombardment, but the few minutes it had to rest helped it to recover some strength. The light screen would remain behind a little longer too. Hopefully it would be enough.

"Keep it up Raichu. Use mega punch!"

"Oddish, stun spore!"

Oddish began shaking its leaves around, releasing a grassy spore cloud in front of it that Raichu ran through. The effect was visible as Raichu's body began to lock up from paralysis. It didn't stop the punch however which struck Oddish hard enough to blow it back for a distance. Surprisingly, Oddish was not out yet. Kurishimi predicted that Raichu's paralysis reduced the brutality of the punch.

"Oddish, regain your strength with absorb!"

A red beam lanced toward Raichu which drained its energy upon connecting. Slowly Oddish began to recover its health while Raichu was drained. The restoration wouldn't be sufficient enough for Oddish to completely recover, but would do enough to help keep it battle ready.

"Raichu, forget about physical attacks. Launch another thunderbolt."

Once more the dangerous electricity flew through the air. Oddish tried to absorb Raichu's health as quickly as it could before the electricity struck, but it was no good and the effects of Chansey's light screen were about to fade. As the electricity coursed over Oddish the flash of the sparks grew to a shining white so much that Kurishimi lost sight of Oddish. She was worried about her friend and couldn't withdraw it through the damaging electrical arcs. However she soon realized she didn't have to worry quite so much after all.

Shortly after she lost sight of Oddish the electricity broke away as if they'd been cut off. The light persisted for a few more seconds before fading out. It was then that Kurishimi realized where the flash had actually originated from. Oddish was gone, and in its place was a fatter version of its former self, now with arms and a bulbous flower on top of its head. Its face now had a dazed appearance and it drooled out of the corner of its mouth. While not quite as cute as it had once been, Oddish had suddenly evolved into a Gloom. With evolution also came more toughness and health, meaning Gloom could take more hits than before.

"Well done Oddi- I mean Gloom!" Kurishimi said in excitement. "Forget about using absorb. Hit Raichu with a mega drain instead!"

Once again a red beam fired toward Raichu from atop Gloom's head, but this one was thicker and faster than the first attack had been. A greater amount of health was sapped from the crippled Raichu who responded by firing more thunderbolts. Raichu was crippled from the paralysis enough that some attacks misfired, but Gloom had already taken serious damage from before and soon fell.

**Would you believe that the move absorb never appeared in the Pokémon anime until episode six hundred? I've been using that for describing attacks and I was stuck until that episode came out later.**


	25. Thunder Badge

Kurishimi sighed before recalling her Gloom. She was disappointed that Gloom had lost, but happy for her Pokémon in achieving evolution. Now she needed to fight a stationary Raichu that could continue to use electric attacks. Fortunately, while Gloom had drained Raichu's health to replenish its own, Raichu had only been attacking while losing health steadily. Since she didn't want to decide her final Pokémon without knowing what Surge had next, she brought Chansey back out.

"Put up another light screen, but be careful," she told Chansey. "You'll need to outlast Raichu in endurance and it'll be brutal."

"Raichu, use a thundershock," Surge said cautiously. Raichu did as instructed, but the weak electric attack simply bounced off the light screen and seemed to do absolutely no damage whatsoever.

Kurishimi chewed her lip as she quickly thought about her opponent's strategy. Until this point Raichu had been using high powered electric type moves then switching to basic fighting skills when the opponent drew in closer. While fighting Gloom it had continued to use the more powerful attacks from a distance without getting nearer after being paralyzed. It was possible for thundershock to also paralyze the opponent, but the chance was around one in ten for that to happen; the same chances as thunderbolt would have. Surge wouldn't be trying to base his win off of that. Raichu was also very ready to fight. Chansey dodged its moves easily enough so the chance of paralysis was even less if it could hit, not to mention the occasional misfire due to Raichu's own paralysis. Surge wasn't panicking or brimming with confidence either. He seemed to be thinking hard about his moves just as much as Kurishimi was, so what was his plan and how would she counter?

"Chansey, at your next opportunity I want you to use an egg bomb on Raichu."

Chansey pulled an egg from somewhere behind the one it had in its pouch to lob at Raichu. On impact the egg comically exploded. The damage wasn't overly significant, but was at least more noticeable than the thundershock strikes had been from the opposite end. The light screen fell after the attack so Kurishimi instructed Chansey to put up a new one. Based on the impact damage, what was there at least, a few more egg bombs could probably knock Raichu out. Surge hadn't recalled Raichu yet though. Either he was waiting to decide on his last Pokémon, having Raichu tire Chansey out as much at it could, attempting to paralyze it, or he believed that Raichu could be quickly taken down by Kurishimi's last choice. Neither of them could predict the other's plans at all.

After a few more egg bombs Kurishimi said, "Get in close now Chansey and use fling again. This time aim Raichu straight up. Move quickly though. I don't want it to hit you with a close range attack."

Chansey danced across the open ground, still dodging Raichu's infrequent electric attacks. A couple of them connected, but paralysis remained absent. When Chansey got within striking distance of Raichu it did try to hit Chansey with a thunderpunch, but Chansey easily evaded the sluggish attack. But it was then that a sneak attack came from Raichu's blind spot in the form of its tail.

The tip of Raichu's tail cut through the air quickly while emitting a silver shine. Chansey attempted to dodge again, but she was too far off balance to do so successfully. Raichu's iron tail attack speared Chansey in her center of gravity for a direct hit knocking her down. Not letting her recover, Raichu used a mega kick to send Chansey back toward Kurishimi.

Having no natural defense against physical attacks and since the melee strikes were unaffected by light screen, Chansey was severely injured. It could continue fighting by firing egg bombs, but didn't have the endurance to withstand many more hits. When Chansey got up again her light screen faded once more, leaving her more susceptible to Raichu's electricity which was quickly exploited. Again a thunderbolt flew, and this time damage was higher.

"Chansey quick, throw another egg bomb!"

Chansey managed to toss another egg at Raichu before fainting. The attack did its job as Raichu also fainted. With a double knockout and both trainers down to their last Pokémon it was impossible to know who could win. Vaporeon couldn't win against Surge's final Pokémon by itself and she couldn't risk the battle with a less experienced fighter.

"Vulpix, you're up!"

"Manectric, let's finish this!" Surge called out.

Manectric was a blue wolf with a yellow mane that pointed into the air. There were yellow tufts of fur around the ankles on its front feet as well as larger ones decorating the back legs. Manectric's tail was formed to spike sharply into the air.

"Hey wait a minute," Kurishimi said as she remembered what Surge had said earlier, "that wouldn't be Akuma's old Manectric would it?"

"The very same," Surge told her with a smile. "I thought it would be interesting to show you what kind of Pokémon he passed on to me. We've been training together for the longest time trying to get in sync with each other after it trained with Akuma. This will be our first gym battle together. My strategies combined with Akuma's training will be sure to give you a tough run."

Kurishimi chewed her lip again as she considered what kind of power she would have to be fighting. She'd been hoping to use Vulpix's speed and experience to win the battle since it was the Pokémon she'd been with the longest with the exception of Vaporeon. Against an opponent like this she knew her chances of victory were slim to none at best, no matter what Pokémon she could have chosen to fight with. The battle would push her to the extremes if she planned on winning this fight.

"Vulpix, show it your confuse ray!"

"Manectric, thunder wave now!"

A brilliant light flashed from Vulpix's body into Manectric's face while the other released dancing weak electric bolts toward the young fox. Manectric instantly became confused while the electricity coursed over Vulpix's body causing a perfectly executed paralysis maneuver. Next Vulpix tried to weaken Manectric even further by burning it with a will-o-wisp. The burn was successful and caused Manectric's attack power to decrease as well. A successful discharge of electricity from Manectric struck Vulpix to do significant damage, but not enough to sway the prediction over who would win the battle as Vulpix fired a large flamethrower in Manectric's direction. Due to confusion, Manectric ran straight into the flames. Despite receiving the full force of the attack however, Manectric appeared to be undamaged.

The battle continued for almost five minutes which gave both Pokémon a high amount of exhaustion. Vulpix was sluggish due to paralysis while Manectric had been burned so it was taking consistent damage as well as having its attack power weakened. Vulpix had been using a confuse ray frequently since confusion wasn't a permanent effect, which did help a bit, but Manectric could use electric attacks from a distance which negated the attack power reduction from burning. At this point, both Pokémon were ready to collapse but neither of them could get in close for another attack. Vulpix's flames had been shortened while Manectric's electric attacks were almost too weak to do any damage. Akuma's training had been evident in Manectric throughout the battle. It was exceptionally tough with strong attacks, but not strong enough to do major damage. Surge's strategy was to use Manectric's speed to do hit-and-run attacks. Being trained by two trainers with different styles seemed to help a Pokémon's development. The problem for her was that she was fighting such an opponent now. What Surge didn't know however, was that she really did have a plan, and now was the right time to use it.

"Vulpix, catch!" she yelled out. Vulpix turned to see Kurishimi throw a small object toward her. Recognizing the shape, Vulpix leaped toward the incoming object, caught it in her mouth, and swallowed it. Immediately the paralysis effects dissipated, allowing Vulpix to move more freely again as the cheri berry was digested.

"Oh no, Manectric, use thunder wave again quickly before it can attack!" Surge commanded, but Manectric was too confused to obey its trainer.

"Okay Vulpix, let's finish this up. Fire a volley of embers at Manectric!" Vulpix showered a fiery rain at Manectric giving it spotted damage around its body. "Now finish it off once and for all with your fire spin!" Vulpix inhaled deeply before firing a thin stream of fire at Manectric. The wiry flames encircled Manectric in a growing spiral until the flames were just under Surge's height before growing thicker in a sudden burst. Now a fiery tornado, Manectric could not escape and to top it off the flames began to close in on Manectric until the eye of the fiery tornado was too thin to exist. As the flames overlapped each other they finally burned out. Manectric struggled against the pain, but still would not fall. "Oh no you don't, we're ending this. Vulpix, knock it down for good with your quick attack!" Now free of paralysis, Vulpix launched itself toward Manectric at high speed, crashing into its side which tossed it into the air before landing hard on the ground.

Surge rushed over to check on his Pokémon's condition, then shook his head and stood up. "The challenger, Kurishimi Akashi, is the winner of this match and has earned the thunderbadge!"

Kurishimi leaped into the air happily and caught her Vulpix in a hug while Surge applauded her with the others in the stands. Wait, she was alone with Surge when the battle started, wasn't she? Kurishimi looked up and saw Akuma, Chad, and Totodile sitting in the stands clapping in approval.

"When did you two arrive?" she asked them after receiving the badge and the two had come down to join her.

"Just a few moments after the battle started I believe," Akuma replied. "I came to see Surge, but I was apparently lucky enough to see your improvements as well. You're doing a fine job in your technique by the way."

"Why didn't you guys say anything?"

"Aw you know us better than that," Chad said to her. "We didn't want to break your concentration, ya know? Besides, we were enjoying the battle too much anyway. Oh yeah, I loved the way you beat Electrode too. That was ingenious!" Totodile nodded in approval as well with a happy grin.

"Uh, thanks I guess," Kurishimi said hesitantly.

"No need to be modest about it, the boy is right," Akuma said to her. "I wouldn't have thought to force a self-destruct by causing an explosion that way. You could've beaten me quite easily if I was in Surge's position."

Kurishimi blushed at the high praise Akuma gave her as Surge cut in. "Wah ha ha! She's your student all right, Akuma. She's a tough one to crack, and from what I heard she wasn't even fully equipped for a gym battle today. I'm surprised at her resilience and strategy, even with inexperienced Pokémon. You've made this girl quite a pain to take down."

"Perhaps, but she's the one with the talent. I only helped her discover her strengths. I'm expecting her to become stronger than most of the hunter groups if she already isn't."

Surge's face grew serious. "She's really that good, huh? That makes me a little happy that I didn't battle her while she was at full strength or it wouldn't have been much of a fight on my part."

"In her battle against the Cerulean gym leader she defeated Vaporeon, Omastar, and wounded a Seadra to nearly fainting with a full team of six; though I feel I should add in that her sixth Pokémon was a new battler at the time as it was recently captured. Akashi herself only lost one Pokémon, not counting her sixth combatant."

"Misty's Omastar lost? Oy, now I know this girl's tough. That Omastar is one of the toughest Pokémon among the gym leaders in Kanto. You have the utmost respect from this old war veteran." So saying, he stood up straight and gave the young girl a salute which she returned with a smile. Then Surge turned toward Chad who had been left out for the most part up till now. "And you're the young prodigy she mentioned too, right? Your name is Chad isn't it?"

Chad smiled nervously as Kurishimi did when she'd first met the man. "Ah, yes sir. That would be me, though I don't think I'm a prodigy."

Surge ruffled the young man's hair with a giant hand. "Ha ha, don't you be modest either, kid! From what I've heard you're going to give Akuma a hard battle someday, isn't that right?"

Chad looked down at his toes and mumbled, "I guess so, but he's way too strong for me to fight right now. It's certainly impossible for me to win against him. In fact I'm thinking more and more that I can't win every time I see him fight. He's got to be the best trainer there is and I'm… well I'm not."

Kurishimi looked worried when she heard Chad's tone. Surge's face dropped the goofy grin he was putting on to be friendly and studied the young boy carefully. Akuma also looked upon Chad with focused eyes while Totodile appeared uncomfortable. There was a long silence between the four of them while someone tried to think of something to say. Each of the veteran trainers was considering Chad's words carefully as well as possible replies.

Kurishimi started to say something, but Akuma beat her to it. He grabbed the young boy's arm and pulled him out of the gym. "Come with me. Right now," he told the boy with a stern tone.

"What are you doing?" Chad yelled as he tried to keep up with Akuma's pace, as was Totodile.

"You are failing as a Pokémon trainer. Either you fix yourself up today or our deal is off and you will never learn anything for the rest of your life as Pokémon trainer."


	26. Rough Training

**Mostly just trainer and Pokémon training in this one. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but it works well enough to progress the story. Crap, I think this counts as filler…**

With Kurishimi and Surge in tow, Akuma took Chad to the outskirts of town. Kurishimi had managed to convince Akuma that Chad could walk on his own so the boy wasn't being dragged. After clearing the claustrophobic streets they went down to the beach. Being one of few cities with access to the ocean, the beach was surprisingly bare of tourists. There were a handful of people here and there, but it wasn't very hard to find a large open area where Pokémon could battle without getting in the way. Kurishimi noticed Akuma had chosen a spot which was quite far from the water as well. When they were in a suitable clearing Akuma sent Chad out ahead to a battle point so he could speak with Kurishimi.

"You remember the training session we had outside the rock tunnel a few months after we started traveling together?" he asked her.

"How could I forget? That was probably the turning point for my skill increase I believe."

"I want you to have the same battle with the boy while I talk to him."

"Wait a minute, that's way too intense for him! He's not even close to that skill level yet. Besides, I'm not such a harsh battler as you know."

"Regardless, I need someone else to fight him while I give instructions. I need to figure out what makes him tick and I can't do that as well if I'm focused on the battle. You don't have to fight like I did at the time either. Just press your attacks so he doesn't have time to think about his answers or his next attack."

"How will he defend himself then?"

"He already knows his Pokémon's attacks well enough that he doesn't need to think about them. His answers will also come from his subconscious thoughts instead of his brain."

"Makes sense, but the battle can't last very long. I just had a gym battle with some inexperienced Pokémon if you recall."

Akuma slipped her his net ball. "Take Ariados then. You should know its attacks well enough to test him in a wide variety of ways. Hidden power is water type for Ariados as well. The attack should wreck his Sandshrew with one shot."

"What are you planning to do with the boy, Akuma?" Surge asked him.

Akuma paused before he gave his answer. "He has no self confidence, doesn't trust in his Pokémon's abilities, and doesn't know what it really means to be a Pokémon trainer. It seems more like he's using his Pokémon as a means to become the strongest trainer instead of treating them like his trusted friends. He is concerned for his Pokémon's health, but they seem to not be getting proper attention in some way. Two days ago he caught a Pokémon that we don't know about. When the three of us came back together he was beaten up very badly. If he doesn't know how to raise his Pokémon properly he could make some very bad choices that could negatively affect himself as well as his Pokémon's growth and development."

"You have a point my friend, but are you sure you aren't taking this a little too personally?"

"What do you mean?"

"Chad isn't like your former caretaker, Akuma. He was raised in a different setting than the two of you were in."

Kurishimi noticed a barely visible twitch in Akuma's face at the comment. "I know that Surge, but I'm going to make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes. I'll figure out how he's thinking for sure before I start getting serious."

"Just remember that he's still young too. He doesn't have the same experiences from life or Pokémon."

"I know. I'll keep that in mind. And Akashi, don't slaughter the boy but don't play nice either."

"Yeah, I understand," Kurishimi answered with a worried look. "You think he's up for this kind of stuff?"

"You weren't when I trained with you. Don't worry about him," Akuma said before walking away. Totodile stayed beside Kurishimi and Surge. Akuma walked halfway between Kurishimi and Chad then closed his eyes and took a deep breath before the battle started. "Okay boy, listen up!" he called out to Chad. "You're going to defend yourself against Akashi's attacks and she won't be holding back. If you don't fight her with every Pokémon and every tactic you have she's going to clean you out in a matter of seconds. While you battle her, answer all of my questions as quickly as you can. Any delay will put your Pokémon at risk."

"Can I use one of your Pokémon to back up my own?" Chad asked.

Akuma ignored the question. "Begin the battle!"

Kurishimi sent out Vaporeon. Not allowing Chad time to consider his choices, she ordered Vaporeon to fire a water gun. Chad panicked as the attack rushed toward him and sent out Bulbasaur to take the attack. Bulbasaur took the attack in full force before it had even fully emerged from the poké ball then launched a vine whip of its own.

"What is a Pokémon trainer?" Akuma asked. Chad thought of how to reply, but an ice beam stopped his thoughts. Bulbasaur quickly evaded and used vine whip again. "What is a Pokémon trainer?" Akuma asked again.

"A Pokémon trainer is someone who raises Pokémon to battle others and defend himself against danger," Chad replied.

"Wrong. A Pokémon trainer raises and lives with Pokémon together. They help and protect their Pokémon as best they can without having to resort to violence. Pokémon are the trainer's most trusted friends. They rely on the trainer for everything and support him or her in any way they can on their own free will, not because they were ordered to."

Bulbasaur showered Vaporeon with leech seeds which were quickly evaded. One seed successfully struck Vaporeon, but before it could take effect Kurishimi recalled Vaporeon and sent out Jigglypuff who then attacked with hyper voice. Bulbasaur was blasted back along the ground, but could still fight.

"What are Pokémon to the trainer? What are they to you?"

Bulbasaur tackled Jigglypuff but the attack bounced harmlessly off its body. Jigglypuff struck back by pounding its arm against Bulbasaur's head. While at close range Bulbasaur planted another leech seed onto Jigglypuff in a way that Kurishimi couldn't see it until Jigglypuff's energy started to drain.

"A trainer's Pokémon are his partners and companions. The trainer relies on them for help when in trouble. My Pokémon are my partners and I trust them with my life."

A doubleslap from Jigglypuff knocked out Bulbasaur, but it was delayed while the leech seed fed Jigglypuff's energy to its opponent. Chad recalled Bulbasaur before Kurishimi could do the same and quickly threw out a poké ball as he got used to the fast paced battle which surprised as well as impressed Kurishimi. She quickly sent out Vaporeon again and found that Elekid was ready to fight. Before she could pull Vaporeon back into its poké ball a quick thundershock paralyzed her friend.

"Every Pokémon trainer has their own unique goals in life. Regardless of their personal ambitions, what is one goal that all trainers have in common?"

Chad was confused by the question so he had Akuma repeat it as Kurishimi sent out a new Pokémon he hadn't known her to have before. It was a pink cow with black markings and a bell around its neck. On its head were two short and stubby horns. It had a long thin tail as well with a ball on the end. Whether it was covered in skin or fur, Chad couldn't tell. Unlike most grassland Pokémon of the sort, it stood on its hind legs instead of all fours. It didn't look very threatening, but he'd thought the same thing about Chansey before it took out Surge's Electrode.

"I don't know," he admitted to Akuma after commanding Elekid to use a thundershock on the opponent. "I thought everyone was different in every way as a trainer."

"Think about it then, and think fast. I want an answer one minute ago."

Akuma certainly knew how to phrase urgency, but Chad couldn't think of something that trainers of every profession had in common. While he thought about the question his attention waned from the battle. Kurishimi's Pokémon used a stomp attack on Elekid then used a defense curl to better protect against the quick attack that followed. Elekid's swift attack wasn't affected by the increased defenses which was Chad's follow up attack choice.

"They all raise Pokémon?" Chad guessed.

"You're close, but not quite there. Try again."

"Use a low kick! They train their Pokémon?"

"That's right. Now tell me why this answer is correct."

Elekid's attacks weren't doing as much damage as Chad had hoped they would. He switched out Elekid for Ponyta who pelted the still curled up Pokémon with a stream of embers. Partway through the attack the embers switched to a spiraling flame that encircled the opponent and shot upwards much as the finishing move Vulpix has used earlier against Manectric. Chad smiled knowing his Ponyta had just learned fire spin, but knew he'd have to celebrate later. Akuma wouldn't be allowing him any room to breathe unless he was answering questions or giving an attack order.

"Because they want their Pokémon to become stronger, right?"

"Obviously, but why is that?"

"So they can fight stronger opponents of course. There's no other reason to train Pokémon that I know of."

"What if your Pokémon isn't getting any stronger? What will you do with it?"

"We'll keep training until we find out how to improve that Pokémon no matter how long it might take."

"Why won't you just release that Pokémon and find a stronger one?"

"No, never!" Chad shouted as his Ponyta met Kurishimi's Pokémon in a stomp attack collision. "I'm not going to throw my Pokémon away because I'm not satisfied with their progress. There's always a way to improve ourselves together and we'll find it with each other or not at all!"

"What if your Pokémon can't improve any more? What if there's nothing left for them but to become weaker? Then will you abandon it in favor of another?"

Chad looked over at Akuma with a very angry glare, the battle against Kurishimi now forgotten. It sounded like Akuma was trying to force him into wanting to abandon his Pokémon somehow. In anger he grabbed another poké ball and threw it in Akuma's direction. When Rattata popped out he ordered it to take down Akuma with a tackle attack. Rattata charged the older male, but Akuma was ready and easily stepped aside. Chad threw another poké ball that revealed his Cubone to Akuma. Cubone knocked out one of Akuma's legs with a bone club attack causing him to trip and fall.

"Don't ever degrade the bond between me and my Pokémon!" Chad yelled at his teacher furiously.

Leaning into the fall with a somersault, Akuma jumped up and away from the attacking Pokémon. He backed away from them until he heard Ponyta coming at him from behind. He opened Fearow's poké ball underneath him and quickly took off into the air and out of reach of Chad's Pokémon.

"You don't have any bond like that with your Pokémon," Akuma called down. "You said so yourself whether you realize it or not. Even though you claimed that your Pokémon are your friends and companions you degraded them to nothing more than tools when you said that they are a means with which to defend yourself in the beginning. You named them as your partners and companions like every other trainer claims, but never once have you acknowledged them as your friends. You've set yourself above them in doing so."

Becoming angrier by the minute, Chad ordered Ponyta to bring down Akuma and Fearow with an ember shower. Being an expert flyer however, Fearow easily evaded the attack. Thinking faster than before, Chad realized Cubone had a strong arm if it could wield any bone as a dangerous weapon. Acting quickly he instructed Cubone to temporarily drop the bone so it could pick up Rattata.

"My Pokémon are the closest friends I've ever had," he called up. "With their help I've become stronger than I ever thought possible. I trust them and rely on their help for many things, but I also realize that they believe in me in much the same way. We work together to become stronger. It isn't just the Pokémon who improve because I've also become much stronger myself! It's not the training you've put me through that's made me us this way, but all of us working together to help each other grow strong!"

When Fearow flew close enough Cubone swung Rattata painfully around by the tail and tossed it up to intercept the fliers. With their eyes on Ponyta, Akuma and Fearow didn't see the incoming Rattata until it had latched on to Fearow's wing with a hyper fang strike. Unable to stay airborne they crashed back down to the ground. Akuma immediately returned Fearow to its poké ball as Chad and his Pokémon closed in.

"You can believe whatever you want about me and my Pokémon, Akuma, but don't you dare tell me that I don't have a bond with my Pokémon or I'll take you down again just as I did right now."

"So you have creativity, but that means nothing," Akuma scoffed as Infernape and Houndoom appeared beside him. "Infernape and I are inseparable after spending a single year together. Do you remember these two Pokémon training together the other day as well? What about the battle Houndoom was in that night? It was the leader of a Houndour pack when I captured it and we'd never trained together before that day. Houndoom still has the proud spirit of a leader despite not being in control of the same sort anymore. I earned respect from it before I ever caught it, whereas you hardly even know your Cubone. I haven't seen it before today, but I know you bought it back in the city during my absence. It may be willing to fight me, but not for you. I can see the pride and defiance in its eyes enough to know that there is no bond between you both whereas I have earned the trust and respect from my Pokémon almost immediately. What do you know about the real bond a trainer and his Pokémon have between each other?"

Rattata rushed toward Akuma for a hard tackle, but Infernape used a mach punch to cut it off which knocked the mouse Pokémon far. Cubone and Ponyta moved in to keep Infernape off of Rattata but were cut off by Houndoom's flamethrower. Noting Rattata's weakened state Chad opened a small pouch on his jacket and pulled out an oran berry which he tossed out to Rattata for it to eat. Ponyta did its best to hold back Houndoom's flames with a weak ember which gave Cubone enough time to get closer to Infernape and use a headbutt attack. Infernape flinched in surprise by the attack which gave Cubone another opening for a bone club strike. Recovering quickly, Infernape dodged Cubone's next attack and fought back with close combat. Houndoom closed the distance to Ponyta and bit its neck while Ponyta fought back with stomps and rolls in attempt to shake Houndoom off. Once again Rattata leapt into battle, having recovered from the healing effects of the oran berry, and latched onto the back of Infernape's neck via hyper fang causing its attacks on Cubone to cease. It was an all out brawl between the five Pokémon with no obvious reasoning or skill. Eventually Chad realized this and returned all three to their poké balls leaving Akuma's Pokémon angry and frustrated.

"I didn't tell my Pokémon to attack that time, they did it on their own. My Pokémon were defending me and I pulled them away to keep them safe when I realized this fight was pointless. I respect their desire to protect their trainer, but I won't have them get hurt for my sake. Can you say the same thing about your Houndoom? Unlike my Pokémon I highly doubt it would fight to protect you for no other reason than it respects your natural leadership and power. It is not your friend, nor do you have such a bond with it. While my Cubone still has its pride and a strong will it fought for me just like the others did and I would not treat it differently for any reason."

Akuma stared the boy down for a moment while Infernape and Houndoom tensed up as if ready to attack the boy at their trainer's command. Finally Akuma returned his Pokémon to their poké balls and walked over to Chad. When he was close enough he put a hand on the boy's head and said, "Well done, you passed."

Chad's expression remained serious so Akuma continued.

"Remember always that your Pokémon are your friends and teammates. Always treat them as your equals. Never send them to do something that you are unwilling to do yourself. Treat them with the respect and admiration you want them to show you and you will receive the same thing in return. If you forget to do this at any time your ability as a trainer will decrease significantly. Never abandon your Pokémon in the best or worst times and they will do the same for you. Good work."

Akuma walked back over to Surge and Kurishimi who had recalled her Pokémon long ago.

"You're a pretty brutal teacher, you know that?" Surge said to him.

"He'll remember the lesson, Surge. That's what counts."

"Will we be going back to the Pokémon Center now?" Kurishimi asked him.

"Your Pokémon need healing so you should head that way. Especially for your Miltank since it's not a battler. I'm surprised you used it unless your other Pokémon were more hurt than I thought. I'm going out of the city for a few hours to do some training with Totodile. We'll be back after I've helped it to make some progress. See you around, Surge." Akuma walked off to the west leaving the others to their own business.


	27. Ocean Preservation

"Hey Chad, can you swim?" Kurishimi asked him late in the afternoon while they waited for Akuma to return.

"Well enough I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking we could head down to the beach for a swim. We might be able to capture some ocean Pokémon while we're out there too."

"I've already got Wooper though. Why would I want another water type?"

"Different types of Pokémon have different skills. Your Wooper is an agile water Pokémon with ground attributes. It's good for defensive battling, but can't carry you across the water very well. You'll need a Pokémon like that to keep you safe in case you run into danger when out at sea. Some Pokémon and challenges can only be found by crossing rivers and oceans so it would be worth your while to have a Pokémon you know can help you in emergency situations."

"I see your point. Do you have any Pokémon like that?"

"Yeah, Vaporeon is strong enough to carry me and is an excellent swimmer. That doesn't mean I won't look for a new fighter while I'm down there though. Besides, I've wanted to go swimming for days!"

"Ahh, so that's your real motive isn't it? It does sound like fun though. Anything we should bring?"

"Just a swimming suit and a towel. Oh, and leave your Cubone behind in case you need to battle while you're down there. It won't like the proximity to the water. I've got to leave some of my Pokémon behind for healing too so we'll both need to switch up our teams before we go. I'll meet you outside the building when you're ready to leave."

"Your Bulbasaur has a scar on its right side doesn't it?" Kurishimi asked Chad as they moved down the roads toward the bottom of the cliff. "How did that happen?"

"It was during the fight with Akuma's Metagross when he lost control. It was a hyper beam that finished the battle."

"Hyper beam, huh? That's a pretty brutal attack that's more powerful than Metagross's meteor mash punch. Bulbasaur's a tough little guy isn't he?"

"Oh yeah, and then some. I'm wondering if I shouldn't train Bulbasaur to be a tank type fighter like Metagross seems to be. It can take a hit well and deal a lot of damage with well-placed strikes. He can get critical attacks quite frequently too. I didn't teach him how to do that."

"Bulbasaur sounds like it would be a very tough Pokémon in the wild where rules don't apply to survival. It sounds like a great training regime to me."

"Will the scar go away if Bulbasaur evolves?"

"I can't say for sure. Some scars vanish on evolution while others remain through even the most extreme changes. My parent's friend Tammy had a Ponyta that got a scar on its forehead a couple days before evolving. After it became a Rapidash the scar was still there but because a horn came with the evolution the horn had a rising spiral ring going around it much like a scar in the bone. I think it differs from species to species personally. I think deeper scars have a better chance of staying but I can't say for sure. I suppose we'll find out when or if Bulbasaur evolves, won't we?"

"You think Bulbasaur might not evolve?"

"Oh no, not at all. Like Akuma's Gastly though, it might not want to or it could take some time before it reaches the requirements. Don't worry about it, I didn't mean anything."

"Changing topics for a moment, what kind of Pokémon do you think will be at the beach, Kurishimi?"

"Magikarp."

"That was a fast answer."

Kurishimi laughed. "Magikarp can be found everywhere. Even though it's the weakest Pokémon it's pretty resilient. They've been found in the tropical climate of Hoenn, an ice cave on an island, and in a boiling river by a volcano! Wherever you find water you're sure to find a Magikarp somewhere nearby as well. I meant that as a joke answer. All kidding aside, I think we can expect to see ocean dwelling Pokémon instead of what you'd find in lakes and rivers. For instance we won't find any Poliwag or Wooper. We're more likely to find Krabby and Tentacool instead. There are other Pokémon to find outside of the water too if you don't feel like swimming."

"Oh don't worry; I think I can swim well enough to go Pokémon hunting underwater. Speaking of which, there's the ocean!"

Surprisingly Chad was correct. They had quickly made their way down the hill and onto the beach without realizing it. Way out over the ocean they could see a flock of Wingull approaching as well as some Pelipper which evolved from Wingull. Kurishimi and Chad pulled off their clothes since they'd worn their swimsuits underneath and placed them further up the beach with Bulbasaur and Ponyta who preferred to sunbathe instead of going down into the water. Since they planned to capture Pokémon while they swam they kept their belts with their poké balls around their waist. Vaporeon was very happy to finally be at the ocean where she could swim long and hard. With a laugh, Vaporeon ran into the surf calling for Kurishimi and Chad to join her. Kurishimi quickly followed her Pokémon until she noticed Chad wasn't coming. She looked back to see the boy staring at Vaporeon with wide eyes and an open mouth. Kurishimi then realized that Vaporeon hadn't spoken in Chad's presence yet.

"Sorry about the surprise, Chad. I never mentioned Vaporeon could speak, did I?"

"Not to me you didn't," Chad replied.

"Stop staring at me, it's rude," Vaporeon chided as she danced around in the open water.

"How did that happen?"

"That's a long story. Let's just say it was a bad evolution stone for now, okay?"

"A bad what?"

"Chad, this is hardly story time right now. Come on; let's have some fun while we still have the sunlight for it! Oh, and don't spread the word that my Vaporeon can talk either. That tends to bring bad attention."

Chad nodded and followed the two females down into the water. They swam around and splashed for a while until Kurishimi's Ekans released itself from its poké ball wanting to go for a swim as well. They then started a game of underwater tag with the two Pokémon who were even more slippery underwater with the extra dimensions to move in. As they swam around they began to take notice of the various underwater Pokémon and eventually began to swim off on their own to look for newer acquisitions. Being the better swimmer, Kurishimi headed farther out and down to the ocean floor in her search. Vaporeon managed to create an ingenious ability for Kurishimi to breathe underwater by creating a large bubble around her head and then freezing it with an ice beam. The effect was short lived however, so Kurishimi didn't have long to make use of it before the bubble broke and Vaporeon would quickly bring her back up to the surface when she couldn't hold her breath any more. Chad practiced his underwater swimming while he searched. While looking around he tried to see how far down he could swim before feeling the need to come back up for air. As his swimming ability increased, so did his bravery and willingness to swim farther out. Of course he was smart enough not to push his limits too far. After finding a safe distance he could travel, he began swimming back and forth in the surf looking for new Pokémon. He made a few attempts to catch a large orange fish named Seaking, but the larger creature kept him at bay with its large dorsal horn.

While Chad explored the shallow waters, Kurishimi was searching near the ocean floor for some more exotic Pokémon. The trick was to find a strong Pokémon that wouldn't need to return to an ample water source frequently in order to keep up its health. She passed up a Shellder, Seadra, and a group of the ever common Tentacool with these rules in mind. She briefly swam after a rare Crawdaunt, but the crab Pokémon was much too fast a swimmer for her to keep up so she had to abandon the chase. Kurishimi was becoming increasingly frustrated with her search until she saw what looked like an underwater cave further down. After Vaporeon took her to the surface and Ekans retreated inside its poké ball for the trip they quickly swam down to investigate. As they drew closer Kurishimi saw a rocky form enter the cave. It was tall, or long depending on how its dimensions really were, and was covered in what looked like armor made of spiky rocks or scales. Its forearms were nonexistent. In their place were blades that looked very much like a Scyther's. Curious about this unique creature, Kurishimi steered Vaporeon down into the cave. As they entered, she took one last breath from her bubble before it broke away.

The cave wasn't totally dark inside, but it also wasn't easy to see either. Vaporeon carefully and quickly guided her down into the rocky tunnel until it arched upward into another section of the cave where air was trapped inside. Kurishimi took a deep breath and found that the air tasted salty and stagnant. There was a natural decoration consisting of a thick layer of moss and algae which covered the rock walls and ceiling. The floor was a mixture between sharp jutted rocks and pockets of sand. Some of the plant growth had a dim glow to it which kept the makeshift room somewhat lit. To her left Kurishimi could see another air filled tunnel leading deeper into the caves. She felt a little intimidated at the sight of it, but carefully stepped across the sand and into the tunnel. She stared in wonder at the formation of the tunnel as if it had been crudely and deliberately carved into a tunnel meant for frequent travel. She wondered if the Pokémon she had followed down here had done it or if it was a natural formation. It could even have been created by a former resident of this cave long ago as well.

Soon she could hear a sound as if rock was being scraped against rock. Sounds of scrabbling and breathing could be heard as well as other organic noises. She attempted to slow her breathing while Vaporeon's tail rose in anxiety. After a few yards more she could see ahead into what appeared to be yet another large room. This room was adorned with decorative rocks jutting out from the walls and ceiling which she quickly noticed were actually Pokémon fossils. Scattered around on the floor were loose fossils which gave the room the appearance that a predator once lived here if one didn't know the bones were preserved. But when she came closer the thing that really caught her eye was the Pokémon in the center of the room; the same one she had followed down here. As she had seen, it was covered from head to toe in a rocky plated armor much like an exoskeleton. Down the back were six spikes, three on each side, going from the back of the neck to the tail. Its chest armor area was colored white instead of the earthy brown that the rest of its armor favored. Its feet were two spiked toes without a claw on the back of the foot like most predators might have had. And indeed it was a predator as evidenced by the sickle blades it had in place of forearms. One such blade had a fish skewered halfway up which the creature was in the middle of eating. Its head was also armored as a flat half circle. It was possible that the bones littered on the floor were not all fossils and could actually have been recent foods for this magnificent creature.

Kurishimi slowed her approach to not appear as a threat in case it noticed her. She stood in the hollow doorway with Vaporeon beside her and watched it for a while. She wished she'd had her pokédex with her to identify the exotic creature assuming it was actually a Pokémon and not a generic animal. How could it have been though? As the Pokémon finished its meal she lightly tapped her foot on the ground to draw its attention. The Pokémon's head snapped toward her with a startled expression that soon turned territorial. Expecting the reaction, Kurishimi smiled gently and didn't move at all except for pulling her foot back to her side to show that she intentionally got its attention. The two eyed each other for the longest time with Kurishimi keeping her face pleasant despite the hollowed glares she was receiving in return. The other only moved once; to toss the fish bones off its blade onto the floor.

Finally the creature's gaze softened slightly and Kurishimi took the chance. "Hello there," she simply said.

The creature gave a simple grunt and nodded its head once, but didn't make any other changes in its position. Kurishimi expected that it was done feeling threatened now and was simply being cautious.

"Is this your cave?" she asked. She was met only with a stare this time. Kurishimi looked around the room casually. "I like the decorations. Did you design them yourself or were they here when you moved in?" As expected, her question was once again met with silence so she adopted a less direct approach. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hope I'm not intruding on your space. If you want me to I can leave you alone. Am I bothering you?" This time the Pokémon slowly shook its head. Kurishimi smiled again, "Ah, that's good then. I didn't want to be a bother. My name's Kurishimi, what's yours?"

This time the creature responded with a rough but likeable voice. "Kabutops," it told her.

"Kabutops is it? Are you a Pokémon?" The creature nodded once more. "I've never seen a Pokémon like you before. Do you live in the Kanto region with others?" The reply was an actual response of Pokémon linguistics this time which Vaporeon translated.

"Kabutops says that it lives here in this ocean area, but it only lives here alone."

"Oh, that's sad. What happened to all your friends?"

Kabutops looked over to one wall which Kurishimi looked toward as well. On it was a Kabutops fossil. She walked over cautiously to gently touch the armored head.

"These were your friends?"

"Yes, the Kabutops species is now nearly extinct," Vaporeon translated.

Kurishimi's face fell as she looked around the room. She could pick out two or three other Kabutops fossils around the room. "So you're the last Kabutops left?"

"No, there are other Kabutops in the world. However they are too few and too far apart to come together," Vaporeon told her. "This Kabutops has only met two others of its species during its lifetime."

"How well have you been living?" Kurishimi asked, trying to change the topic as she felt a tear in her eye.

"Kabutops believes that you've come to take it away from the cave for your own gain."

Kurishimi shook her head. "Oh no, not at all. I'm a Pokémon trainer, yes, but I respect nature and the Pokémon that live in it. Besides, if I wanted to capture you I would've attacked right away instead of getting your attention right from the beginning."

"Kabutops also knows that even some selfish trainers can have some honor too."

"Well I can't argue with that I suppose. Still, capturing one of the last remaining Kabutops wouldn't do me any good. Not to mention the bust for my reputation with the exception of some seedier circles. You look pretty tough so I don't mean any disrespect when I say this, but I don't really need a rare and powerful Pokémon to become the best trainer. My Pokémon are already very strong. I'll admit I was swimming through the ocean to find a new Pokémon to capture, but I couldn't catch you and still have a clear conscience."

Kabutops thought about it for a minute, then rose up and walked over to Kurishimi and touched the side of her face with the flat of its blade. "Kabutops trusts you and won't attack you. However it does ask that you keep the location of this cave, and its existence, a secret."

"Hey, don't worry about me talking. In fact I'll even lose my sense of direction when I leave by having my Abra teleport me out of your cave to above the water's surface. That should leave me plenty disoriented."

Kabutops nodded once more with satisfaction before it leapt across the room to a section of the wall. It struck the wall with its blades violently until a chunk of rock fell down. After inspecting the fallen piece it motioned Kurishimi over. When she was closer it flipped the rock over to show her a similar fossil to the Kabutops and began to speak to her.

"Apparently Kabutops knows about the recent developments in technology; specifically the fossil resurrection machines that have been in use lately. As thanks for keeping its secret it wants you to take this Kabuto fossil of one of its children and have it revived. After it is healthy and strong it asks you to take it to a trustworthy breeder who can breed it with other Pokémon and revive a small portion of the Kabuto race."

Kurishimi smiled. "I'd be honored to help revive a magnificent species such as yours, Kabutops. I'll do everything I can to help bring your race back into existence." So saying, she gathered up the fossil under her arm and walked back to Vaporeon. "I'll make sure your species lives on, Kabutops. And I'll personally oversee the upbringing of your children and grandchildren myself." With that she released Abra and recalled Vaporeon to its poké ball. "Take care of yourself, Kabutops. And watch out for Sharpedo packs next month during their migration in the bay. Abra, teleport us above the ocean waters straight up." Kurishimi kept an eye on Kabutops as Abra's teleport flash blurred her vision until she fell into the ocean waters. Immediately she used her free hand to recall Abra and pulled out Vaporeon once more. "I need you to help me back to shore, Vaporeon. I can't swim with one arm while this fossil is dragging me down."

"It would help if Abra could teleport more than one individual besides itself at the same time, but I suppose its psychic powers are still too weak for that," Vaporeon mused.

"As long as there isn't any real emergency we'll be fine."

While they swam in the direction of the beach Kurishimi let her mind wander back to the awesome figure of Kabutops in the cave. That posture with those mystical lights around the cave was a scene she would certainly never forget. As they drew closer to the sands there was a loud crashing roar that almost caused Kurishimi to release her grip from Vaporeon.

"What on earth was that?" she exclaimed when she could hear her own voice again.

"Something I wish wouldn't be happening," Vaporeon replied. "Look up toward the beach."

Kurishimi peered ahead and saw a massive sea serpent rising out of the ocean. Its face was terrible and its destructive power was legendary. She'd been praying that she wouldn't see this creature during their ocean trip, but luck wasn't hers today. It was the dreaded Pokémon, Gyarados, mercilessly attacking the people on the beach.

"Vaporeon, see if you can swim around it without being seen. If we get on shore I think we'll be able to help drive it away."

"I don't know if I can swim fast enough for that," Vaporeon replied with a fearful tone. "Look at what's happening over there."

"It's attacking the people, I know. That's why we need to hurry."

"No Kurishimi, look closer!"

Kurishimi stared hard at what was happening and then she understood what was going on. The Gyarados wasn't attacking the people on the beach; it was attacking a single person on the beach. Everyone else had fled to the city. There were attacks being directed at Gyarados as well which suggested it was a Pokémon trainer trying to drive it back into the sea. But the real shock came when the attacks cleared so she could see what was really happening. The person striking back at the Gyarados was someone very familiar to her, and unfortunately it wasn't Akuma.

"That's Chad over there!" Kurishimi screamed.


	28. The Atrocious Pokemon

While Kurishimi had Pokémon capable of swimming and fighting underwater, Chad only had Pokémon that could battle on land. Some of his Pokémon might be able to defend themselves in still water, but for the most part an ocean battle would be near useless unless Wooper was able to battle in salt water as well as the fresh. To that end, Chad had brought his newest Pokémon acquisition along with him in case he found danger. It wasn't a water Pokémon, but based on the beating he'd received during the attempted capture he was quite certain it could fight back well enough to push away any attackers just long enough for them to reach the shore. It would be better than watching Nidorino struggle against the water currents with his stubby legs anyway. First of all he'd need to find a Pokémon to lure to the shallows where he would have a fighting chance.

He found a group of the crab Pokémon Krabby in a few places, but each group also had at least one Kingler for protection so he backed off from those prospects. He considered a clam Pokémon named Shellder for a moment before realizing it wouldn't be a Pokémon he could rely on to help him in the water, much less be an effective battler on dry ground. Just when he was about to give up he saw a white Pokémon further out that was swimming by itself. It had a short fat tail which could have been a fin and a dopey face with a single short horn on its head. It could have been an obese mermaid if that was possible. He quickly swam after it until it went down to weave between the rocks among the sands. Chad wasn't sure whether it had seen him yet, but it was the best Pokémon he'd found so far. After coming up for air he went back down to look for it among the rocks. He had to resurface a number of times before he found a tail resting on the ocean floor. It looked much different up close than it had farther away. For one thing he'd thought the tail had two separate fins on the end whereas this one was a single fin with a blue separator in the middle. This fin was also much thinner and very large, but Chad just assumed it was his fault for not noticing details very well and misjudging distance. He grabbed the tail and tried pulling the Pokémon out of its hiding spot in victory. His victory was short-lived however. The tail thrashed suddenly, throwing him up and almost to the surface of the water. He swam back up the rest of the way for a breath then looked back down to spot his find and only then did he realize how big of a mistake he'd made.

This definitely wasn't the Pokémon he was looking for. This one was a huge sea serpent covered in hard blue and yellow scales across its body. Its face conveyed fear with a frightening glare and a large fanged mouth. In the earliest days of Pokémon categorization it was among the top three Pokémon for size and weight, but was still considered so dangerous today that it was frequently named as a natural disaster instead of just a normal Pokémon. It saw Chad instantly and began swimming up toward him. Chad panicked and broke the surface again before swimming as quickly as he could to shore.

He noticed there were still some people on the beach so he called out to warn them. "Gyarados!" he yelled as loud as he could. Most people heard him and looked up to see him frantically swimming toward the shore just before the head of the Gyarados broke the surface of the water and roared loudly. The reaction of the people was instantaneous. After the initial screaming some people grabbed what they could before running back to the city. Others didn't bother to grab anything, opting to just outrun the others. Ponyta and Bulbasaur who were still on the beach began to run away on impulse, but quickly turned back to wait for Chad.

The distance was much too far to cover given how close behind him the Gyarados was. He looked back to see the Gyarados head coming down on him with a tackle attack. He sharply turned to the side before it hit and avoided the impact, but his leg scraped against the steely scales of the serpent which mangled some of the skin on his leg causing Chad to scream in pain. The attack also caused a strong current to push him further to the shore, but it still wasn't enough. He kept on swimming, but quickly grew tired and his shredded leg severely reduced his speed as the salt water burned his wound. The Gyarados roared again before firing a dragon type twister attack from its mouth. The small tornado launched Chad high into the air and toward the shore. As he fell headfirst toward the water he closed his eyes in bracing for the impact before he felt something tighten around his waist and yank him to the side. He opened his eyes to see Bulbasaur's vines set him down on the shore while his Pokémon sighed in relief. He thanked them then looked out at the ocean to see the Gyarados coming after him at top speed.

Unlike most other ocean dwelling Pokémon, Gyarados could move across land in much the same way as a snake. Fortunately the beach was empty of civilians now, but Chad only had a minute at most before Gyarados would be on the beach for battle. With no other apparent trainers in sight and with Kurishimi and Akuma gone, it was up to him to stop the Gyarados before it destroyed the city. He had a full team of six Pokémon with him which meant he was as ready as he could be at his experience level. He quickly went over his options in what little time he had.

Nidorino was currently the strongest and most experienced Pokémon he had on hand. If he could poison Gyarados early in the battle it would give him a big advantage in the long run. Bulbasaur was a grass type so it would be resistant to any water attacks Gyarados used, but as the youngest member on his team he couldn't rely on it too much or Bulbasaur would quickly be exhausted. Pidgey was the weakest battler he had and he almost didn't consider using it. However because it was a flyer it might be able to use pester attacks to draw away Gyarados's attention from the ground attacks. Because Gyarados was water and flying typed he could definitely rely on Elekid for very effective attacks. Surge had also trained with them earlier that day to assist with Elekid learning the shock wave attack which ensured a guaranteed hit every time. Ponyta, being a fire type, would probably be outmatched early in the battle. He could use Ponyta's agility to avoid Gyarados's attacks since it was probably after him primarily and with his wounded leg there wasn't much he could do on his own either. As to his final Pokémon, he wasn't sure how to use it yet. Based on its frenzied attacks from the day before though, he could expect it to be a nuisance attacker at the right time.

In all honesty there probably wasn't much he could do if the opponent was at a much higher battling level than he thought. If nothing else he could at least keep it occupied until help arrived from his companions or inside the city. This would probably be a stall battle like he had done with Akuma before they left Saffron City. To begin the battle, he called out Nidorino and Pidgey. He commanded Pidgey to fly ahead and use a gust attack to slow it down while Nidorino and Bulbasaur stood out in front. The Gyarados snapped at Pidgey with a bite attack until Chad called it away for later. When the winds finally died down enough, Bulbasaur fired a leech seed toward Gyarados though it missed every time. Chad would either have to slow it down or attempt a sneak attack to ensure a hit. Because they had waited until the winds calmed before using the long range attack, Gyarados has closed the distance significantly in that time. Based on its speed and distance Chad estimated fifteen seconds at that pace before it reached the shore. He climbed up on Ponyta so he would be ready to run if he had to.

Now Chad had Nidorino move forward to strike at the first opening it got. Chad released Elekid to give Nidorino support just as Gyarados fired at twister at their location. Upon impact, Pokémon flew everywhere. Before the dust settled Chad called out for Elekid to use the shock wave attack on Gyarados. Even though everyone's vision was initially obscured the electric attack headed straight for Gyarados and caused it to stop its advance on the shore. Taking the opportunity, Bulbasaur again used a leech seed and this time it was successful in taking root around Gyarados's neck like a collar. Gyarados tried in vain to get rid of the plant by thrashing and biting until it was struck again by Elekid's thundershock attack. With the Gyarados stunned and distracted Nidorino moved in for a horn attack. When the attack connected Nidorino clung to Gyarados and struck it repeatedly with its poison barbs until Gyarados was poisoned which happened just before Gyarados shook it off. Chad recalled Nidorino in midair then placed the poké ball back on his belt to conserve its energy and health until Gyarados came onto land. Not wanting to risk Bulbasaur's vines getting caught in Gyarados's bite all Chad could do now was wait until it came ashore. He could continue to fight back with Elekid's electricity, but if Gyarados withdrew too far into the ocean the electric current could course throughout the water and hurt the Pokémon under the surface. Unfortunately for Chad's team, Gyarados were more dangerous in close combat than they were at long distances.

Taking a chance, Chad hurled his last poké ball in the Gyarados's direction as hard as he could. As the poké ball started to fall it opened up and the Pokémon inside kicked the ball back down to Chad before latching onto Gyarados's face. It was a familiar Pokémon to Chad mostly because of the strategy Akuma had used to fight one with his former Nidoran. It was the pig monkey, Mankey.

When it had a good grip on Gyarados, Mankey began to furiously scratch at its face with unbridled energy. Chad sighed in relief when he saw that the Gyarados couldn't easily shake off his Mankey. In addition to the attacks, Gyarados's health was also being steadily drained by the poisoning and leech seed effects. Depending on its constitution the battle might not last for too much longer, or so he thought. His mind changed when Gyarados used its tail to slap Mankey into the water. Not one to be defeated so easily, Mankey swam so fast toward Gyarados it looked as if it was crawling on top of the water, then climbed up its back and dexterously avoided the attacks from Gyarados while it clawed away at the beast.

"Okay, new plan, new plan, new plan, we need a new plan," Chad said hurriedly to himself. When Gyarados finally dislodged Mankey it would knock it away and then head straight for the shore or just skip the middleman. He tried hard to remember what Akuma had taught him when facing larger opponents.

_All Pokémon, no matter their experience, have potential. You only need to learn how to draw it out._

_Learn about your Pokémon and you can use their uniqueness to gain the advantage in any battle._

_Trainer ingenuity plays a part in winning._

_If you can't hold your own against a Gyarados, wild or otherwise, your best bet is to just run from dragons._

A dragon Pokémon? Gyarados wasn't a dragon type, but it was strong enough to fight on equal terms with dragons. Akuma had fought at least one dragon Pokémon before and it seemed to have left a major psychological impact on him. Chad wanted to be the very best trainer in the world, not second or third best. If Akuma could beat a dragon, then he could take down a Gyarados. It was decided then. He would pull the Gyarados onto the beach and bring it down in victory!

"Okay Pokémon, listen up!" he said to his teammates after calling out Nidorino and Pidgey once again. He made sure to speak loud enough that Mankey could hear him too. "We seem to be the only trainers able to keep this dragon from the city at the moment so we're going to have to fight until we drop it. We're not going to fall back into the city because that Gyarados will not cross this beach. We are going to fight as hard as we can because we won't be expecting any help from Kurishimi, Akuma, Surge, or anyone else. The seven of us are going to bring him down together!"

Chad's Pokémon gave various cries of agreement, then Pidgey, Bulbasaur, Elekid, and Ponyta flashed a brilliant white as energy began to surround their bodies. At first Chad thought their enthusiasm was giving them a burst of energy, but then he remembered the same thing had recently happened to his Nidoran.

"No way, you're all evolving at once!" he exclaimed.

Chad was right. Bulbasaur grew to the same size as Nidorino and the bulb on its back partially opened to reveal a closed flower bud. Ponyta also grew, but this time was much larger then Chad. She sprouted a horn on the top of her head and the flames of her mane and tail grew more intense as well. Unsurprisingly, Pidgey grew as well. The tuft of feathers on its head grew out wildly while its wings became stronger and more muscular. As expected, Elekid also shot up in height, but more so than all the others. It continued to grow even after the others had finished until it was a head taller than Chad. Its once weak arms were now muscular and electrical energy coursed across its arms to its strong fists. Elekid also sprouted a distinguishable head with electrical nodes on top. Chad and Nidorino couldn't stop staring.

"Okay so, let me figure this out," Chad started after his Pokémon had finished their evolutions. "Bulbasaur is now Ivysaur, Pidgey is now Pidgeotto, Ponyta is a Rapidash, and Elekid is a…."

"Electabuzz!" his Pokémon finished for him.

"Right, this is going to take a bit to get used to it seems. Okay… everybody, attack Gyarados. Watch out for Mankey though!"

Gyarados and Mankey had stopped their scuffle to watch the rare moment until the various attacks began. Electabuzz used a thunderbolt, Ivysaur fired a razor leaf, Rapidash unleashed a fire spin, and Pidgeotto darted in close for a quick attack. Mankey panicked as it tried to avoid the attacks. Most dodges were successful until some of Ivysaur's razor leaves sliced dangerously close to Mankey, causing it to lose its grip on Gyarados. Pidgeotto quickly swooped in to catch its teammate then proceeded to bring it atop Gyarados's head where it could attack more easily. Not willing to be outdone, Nidorino fired a weak long distance poison sting attack from the spines along its back. The damage was minimal, but would have an effect in the long run.

Chad was sure he would win the battle and drive Gyarados away until the serpent turned toward him and his beached Pokémon with sudden determination. With new fury, Gyarados reared back as a ball of energy grew outside the front of its mouth. Chad sensed this attack would be even more brutal than the twister attack Gyarados seemed to favor up to this point. Fearing the worst, Chad recalled Nidorino, Pidgeotto, and Mankey since they were the most vulnerable. He then commanded Electabuzz, Ivysaur and Rapidash to use their strongest attacks at full power before Gyarados could attack as well. Gyarados was bombarded by powerful attacks just before its own attack went off. A swirling ball of energy rushed towards Chad's Pokémon at high speed. Chad was able to hurriedly recall Ivysaur, but Electabuzz and Rapidash were struck by the powerful dragon rage attack resulting in all three being tossed away like rag dolls.

After the attack, and in addition to his leg being badly wounded, Chad could hardly stand up anymore. He found it very hard to breathe as well and when he tried to get up he found that he'd broken one of his ribs. Adding insult to injury, the Gyarados had reached the shoreline and was advancing across the beach toward him. In his condition, Chad couldn't get away and couldn't breathe well enough to call for help. He noticed however, that despite the powerful attacks and its resiliency to damage the Gyarados was still taking damage from the effects of poison and the leech seed collar. Since he'd been fighting with all six Pokémon at once and was still taken down in the way he was, Chad couldn't help being impressed by the Gyarados's power.

"Okay you," he said to the beast that towered over him, "I'll admit that you're without a doubt the toughest Pokémon I've ever encountered, aside from those Akuma trained of course, and I certainly know that I'll probably never be able to defeat you. Despite this, I will ensure that you do not reach the city even if I'm permanently damaged." With those words Chad released Ivysaur, Mankey, Pidgeotto, and Nidorino between the two of them. "Ivysaur, restrain it with your vine whips. Pidgeotto, stop its progress and wound its accuracy with a sand attack. Mankey, climb up and strike any weak point you can find where the others cannot reach. Nidorino, you do what you do best. All of you bring this beast down."

Pidgeotto and Mankey quickly did as they were commanded. Gyarados was quickly blinded by Pidgeotto's continuous sand attacks while Mankey used karate chops on Gyarados's weak points between its scaled armor. Nidorino ran around and over Gyarados's tail end, attacking any target it could find with various attacks from horn attack and double kick. Ivysaur wrapped its vines around Gyarados's head and pulled it down to the ground hard. From further off, Electabuzz and Rapidash used thunderbolt and fire spin respectively in their weakened states. Chad expected Gyarados to resist, but it was too weakened to do so. However, it was not weak enough that it couldn't attack. Even as it laid crumbled on the beach another dragon rage began to take form from inside its mouth. Chad was too hurt to move and his Pokémon couldn't help him away in time without risking being caught in the blast. Finally he was pressed to use his last resort.

"I was hoping to use this to catch a strong water Pokémon someday in the future when I bought it in Saffron, but I suppose you're better than any water Pokémon I'll ever come across." So saying, he pulled out an aqua green colored poké ball with a black pattern on it; a net ball. It was a specially designed poké ball meant for catching water and bug type Pokémon more successfully. Before Gyarados could fire the dragon rage, Chad weakly threw the poké ball against its body and the sea serpent was sucked inside quickly.

Despite the higher capture success the poké ball had a hard time containing the viscous creature. It shook violently while Chad stared it down along with his Pokémon while Rapidash helped Electabuzz over to the group. All of Chad's Pokémon were tense as they waited for the poké ball to complete the capture. Based on the tenseness of his friends Chad knew that if the Gyarados should break free his Pokémon would instantly attack it without waiting for a command. He was grateful for their willingness since he was too exhausted to think anymore, much less command his Pokémon in battle again. Finally their efforts were rewarded as the capture light faded and sounded the capture tone. Chad sighed with relief and a smile as the poké ball faded away, teleporting to its storage containment, just before he lost consciousness.

Kurishimi walked silently up the beach with her Vaporeon toward the boy and his Pokémon. After she'd surfaced she had to swim around to a place where the Gyarados wouldn't see her to join the battle successfully as well as hide the dome fossil away from prospectors. However, when she saw how efficiently Chad had been able to hold his own she stayed back and let him fight the battle alone. When the first dragon rage attack struck, she'd rushed in to help but Chad subdued the serpent in his weakened state and had managed to capture it before she arrived. Chad's Pokémon noticed her approach and allowed her to approach him willingly except for Mankey who was comically kicked away by Electabuzz before it let her come closer. She checked the boy's wounds and determined they weren't overly severe before a gust of wind sounded from behind her. She knew it was Akuma with his Fearow and that he'd watched the whole battle.

"You were late to step in this time," she said without turning around.

"For once I agree with you entirely," Akuma told her without coming closer. His distance was also encouraged by Chad's Pokémon who stared at him suspiciously. Most of them hadn't met the veteran just yet while the rest knew of his less than sympathetic nature.

"You could've stepped in at any time though, but you kept your distance."

"That I did."

"You could've stopped both of those dragon rage attacks too I bet."

"I tried, but I miscalculated my distance," Akuma replied. The tension between those present was almost visible from being so thick.

"Why didn't you step in to help him like you helped me with the Camerupt?"

"For the same reason you kept your distance, I'm sure."

"For the same reason, or more than you're letting on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're still upset by dragons, aren't you?"

"I am, but that's not why."

"You just wanted to watch him battle?"

"I did."

"No other reason?"

"Just the one, as you said."

Kurishimi sighed to herself. "He's broken at least one of his ribs. His leg is also very badly wounded. We need to get him to a hospital quickly."

"Let me take a look," Akuma said, though it was more toward Chad's Pokémon than Kurishimi. He stepped closer and looked over Chad's leg carefully. "This is bad. His skin is cut halfway to the bone. He needs medical attention immediately or he'll lose his leg. We can't walk him to the hospital; we need to teleport him or fly him there. Do you have Abra with you?"

"Yeah, I've got it with me." Kurishimi released Abra as she spoke.

"Good. I picked up your gear and the boy's before I came over. Use Abra to teleport him to the hospital. Pokémon, you'll need to go inside your poké balls now. Abra can only teleport one other individual at a time. Abra, when you're finished come back for the rest of us."

Vaporeon, Fearow, and all Chad's Pokémon retreated quickly into their poké balls while Chad and Abra vanished into the air. After two more trips Akuma and Kurishimi rushed Chad into the emergency care center.


	29. Regrouping

**Many thanks to a random passerby for a good critique that I needed to hear. It's the only worthwhile feedback I've ever received. This chapter will, unfortunately, have to be necessary filler for the time being. The next two chapters will set up preparations for the plot to finally be more concrete and laid out which is embarrassingly long overdue.**

It was close, but Kurishimi had gotten Chad to the hospital just in time to save his leg. His skin was horribly mangled but was healing properly after surgery. Chad was also put in a cast to help in the healing of his ribs. While Kurishimi watched over the boy throughout the day, Akuma rushed out of the hospital early on.

Four days later Akuma hadn't come back, but Chad had woken up. He was grateful that his friends had gotten him medical help as soon as they did. He was curious as to where Akuma had gone, but Kurishimi couldn't tell him anything since she had been left in the dark just as much as he was. On the fifth day Akuma finally returned, allowing Kurishimi to leave the hospital to resume her training with her own Pokémon while he had a talk with Chad.

"The mysterious man returns," Chad said when he woke up and saw Akuma sitting beside his bed.

"Yeah, I'm back. You and I have a lot to talk about as well," Akuma said cryptically.

"Before you get into that I wanted to thank you for helping me here. Kurishimi told me I almost didn't make it in time."

"She's right, you were lucky. In fact you'll probably be released today or tomorrow at the latest."

"You're kidding! From what I heard I had to stay here for a few more weeks."

"And if I hadn't come back you probably would be waiting that long. For starters, I need to know how well you can keep secrets."

"Pretty darn well if I do say so myself. I've been keeping my Pokémon a secret from you as best I can since we first met."

"In that case I'll tell you how you'll be healed, but you are never to tell anyone how this happened. Are we in agreement?"

"What about the doctors here?"

"Tell them I used one of my own Pokémon to treat your wounds for a fast recovery. I couldn't heal you last week because you needed gentler treatment before that so I went out to get that Pokémon manually. My personal storage was down for a while so I went to where they were being stored by myself and brought it back here to finish your treatment. If they ask what Pokémon it was, tell them it healed you while you were sleeping so you don't know."

"Done. I'll do anything to get out of here. I've only got half a week left before my time limit for training is up anyway. I can't afford to be lying down all this time."

"Very well then, your solution to the pain is right above you."

Chad looked up but saw nothing. "I don't see what you-"

"Wait for it," Akuma said, cutting him off with a hand gesture.

Chad continued watching until a small pink Pokémon appeared. He recognized it immediately as the creature Kurishimi had shown him on her pokédex in Saffron City, Mew. The little Pokémon floated down to sit at the foot of Chad's bed and began to glow a soft blue. Shortly after it began Chad could feel his wounds mending slowly and comfortably. He breathed a contented sigh as his pain gradually began to fade.

"Mew's healing will take some time because of the damage you received. While that's going on we can have a talk."

"I'll say. I have a lot of questions for you," Chad said with a relaxed tone.

"Hold your questions for now. I can guess at a number of them and give you some answers so that you can rest. To begin with, after you were brought here I did go out to search for a Pokémon that could cure your wounds. Unlike the time when I was in the hospital the damage you took was much more severe and not so easily cured. If I had brought Erika and her Pokémon out here they wouldn't be able to do much for you other than slow infections. You needed no less than complete and instantaneous healing. While I searched for a proper Pokémon I found this Mew again. We seem to run into each other quite frequently so I requested its help in curing you. Luck played a huge part in my finding Mew. I really couldn't have found it otherwise. You may be left with some slight scarring on your leg but since your entire leg would be a scar through natural healing, if not totally unusable, I'd say this way is much more preferable. It's been a hassle trying to get the two of us back here without being spotted and we had to take an extra day in our return to do so."

"Well you're right; you answered all the questions I had."

"Now I've got a question for you. What do you plan to do with the Gyarados you captured?"

Chad grimaced at the thought. "I haven't thought about it. I'd just as soon not use Gyarados and leave it in storage where it can't hurt anyone else. I can't set it free because there will almost definitely be another incident like what happened to me. I can't train it either because I doubt I could control it as well as my other Pokémon."

Akuma tapped a finger on his chair while he thought. "I think you should know something. I watched your entire battle against the Gyarados. I had planned to step in if things got too intense for you but I was late. My point is that I know all of your six Pokémon you used in that battle. Four evolved and you had a Mankey as well. During the entire battle you were able to sufficiently command all six Pokémon and keep them under your control. None of your Pokémon acted out of turn on their own will. When you gave them an order they obeyed those directed to them instantly and stayed under your guidance the whole time. This continued after your Pokémon evolved. In most cases when a Pokémon has evolved it can be tougher to maintain control, but they all listened to your every command. I assume you also caught Mankey recently which shows that you have a natural control over even the most problematic Pokémon. All things considered, I believe you can control the Gyarados as if it were a natural member of your team. If nothing else, you will have at least earned its respect by capturing it. I'd highly recommend making it a regular among your team members as it would greatly increase your battle strength. You don't need to decide now, but you should consider whether the risk is worth the taming."

Chad silently thought about the Gyarados. It didn't seem to be more than a destructive power when he was battling it, but it was really just another Pokémon like all his others. Granted it was a Pokémon with a very bad reputation that could cause Armageddon at a whim, but still a Pokémon. Akuma let Chad think in silence for a moment, until Chad looked up at him.

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but would you have any objections if I chose to raise Gyarados?"

"I suggested it to you, didn't I?"

"I know that, but I'm not asking about strategic advantages. I'm asking if you'd have any personal problems with me raising a Pokémon with dragon characteristics."

Akuma narrowed his eyes at the boy. Of course he would have a problem with it. He hated dragon type Pokémon and those closely related to them. Gyarados was easily no exception, all things considered. In the interest of helping the boy become stronger however, there was no better option than to encourage him to raise it. Chad hadn't asked him about that though. He had specifically asked Akuma if he would have any personal problems with him doing so. He was certainly more considerate than Akuma would have been.

"Yes, I would be very put off if you decided to raise the Gyarados," Akuma admitted. "However my opinion shouldn't persuade you to raise certain types of Pokémon no matter how much I might favor one over the other. You could be perfectly compatible with Gyarados, or simply use it when no other Pokémon could help you better. You may even find another Pokémon type to be more of an effective battler for you than a Gyarados would be. I do believe that if you learned to use Gyarados in battle it would become the backbone in your selected team, but again, this choice should be completely up to you."

Chad sighed at the clear yet unhelpful answer Akuma had given him. Then he remembered that it might not matter to Akuma soon whether he raised Gyarados or not. By next week he could be traveling on his own without Akuma or Kurishimi to help him.

"Hey, how much longer do I actually have before my training limit is up?" he asked.

"Only a few days," Akuma stated, "however it doesn't matter anymore. After watching your battle against the Gyarados I've decided not to wait until the designated time before choosing whether to train you on a long term basis or not." The color in Chad's face drained as Akuma went on. "During that battle I watched as all of your Pokémon were overpowered by a single opponent. You exhausted all of your battle strength in order to bring down one threat that was much more than you could handle. You knew that you were outmatched and still you continued to fight without admitting defeat and retreating. By the end of the battle your Pokémon were drained and exhausted too much to continue despite their added battle strength upon evolving and in greater numbers. It was an almost exact recreation of the battle you experienced on the day we met. It only took one Pokémon to bring down all the fighters you brought forth and you could only do minimal damage with each one."

Chad cringed at the harsh words Akuma was saying. The outcome and progress in that last battle had been almost exactly like the battle when he met Akuma. The only difference was that he'd fought with six of his strongest at the same time, but even with a handicap the battle would have ended in a loss. He was only saved by the added capture power of the net ball he'd used.

"However," Akuma continued, "if I were in your shoes I'd have done the same thing." Chad refocused his now teary eyes on his senior. "You fought the Gyarados to protect the city and you gave those people on the beach enough time to escape. If you had stopped fighting and chosen to run to the city for protection Gyarados would have run you down and possibly destroyed the city while killing you along the way. You chose correctly in fighting with all six of your Pokémon since your opponent's power far outmatched your own. Because it was not an official Pokémon battle but rather a state of emergency, what you did was the best choice. Do you know why all four of your Pokémon evolved at the same time?" Chad shook his head. "They felt your determination and resolve to win the battle. Because of the bond with your Pokémon they felt your leadership and true nature within that battle; your feelings to fight in order to protect the city. They had the same resolve, but also wanted to protect you. Whether they knew it or not, your Pokémon evolved by sheer willpower alone. Ponyta just recently learned fire spin, Elekid was still a baby when you received it at Bill's lighthouse home, and Bulbasaur evolved faster than any starter Pokémon I've known. By all rights your Pokémon were still too inexperienced to receive that level of growth in their lives yet they all evolved. In fact the only two who did not evolve were Mankey, who was still new to the team and thus still incompatible with you, and Nidorino, who requires a moon stone to evolve to its third and final stage. If it was not for these limiting factors I'm sure they would have also evolved. Chad, you didn't fail in that battle. Instead you exceeded my expectations from the young trainer who was on his knees in defeat no more than three weeks ago. Your growth and potential is astounding. Just like your Pokémon, you also evolved and grew to the next level in your skills from that battle. I will not be accepting you as my apprentice, instead I'd ask you to reaffirm that you wish to tutor under me. I believe the honor is more mine than yours."

Akuma's face was as serious as ever as he spoke. Chad on the other hand was too busy staring to pick his jaw up off the ground. Mew tilted its head wondering why Chad hadn't moved then gave an inquisitive response to Akuma.

"I'm not sure. I think he went into shock," Akuma told it. "See if you can wake him up."

Mew used a burst of psychic energy to bring Chad's brain back up to speed. Chad shook himself awake before addressing Akuma. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"I have no reason to make jokes since any laughter would hurt you at this point I believe," Akuma simply said.

Chad stared with a dumbfounded expression, just before his eyes began to glaze over. "I'm going to pass out now, okay?" he said right before he fainted.

Akuma chuckled to himself while Mew continued to work its healing power until Chad had fully recovered.

The next day Chad was released from the hospital by some very confused doctors who wanted to know what miracle Pokémon Akuma had used to cure him. Kurishimi was also curious, but Akuma kept silent about Mew and told her it was another secret he wouldn't want to reveal. Chad stuck to the story about not waking up during the healing and played at confusion impressively. The two of them were able to escape most questions except for one very pushy doctor who refused to let Akuma leave the hospital until he knew the secret despite the hospital staff's insistence that he leave them alone. Akuma's Ariados had to tie up the doctor and hang him from the ceiling before they could finally get away. Kurishimi normally disapproved of Akuma's rough treatment of civilians in this manner, but she actually suggested it this time and walked out the doors with a mischievous smile.

That morning Akuma had secretly gone back to the Vermillion gym and acquired the thunder badge. As he'd done in Saffron's gym he asked Surge to keep the battle a secret and off the records so no one would know he'd been there. Chad had thought about going to the gym sometime during his stay in the city, but after his Pokémon evolved he decided it would be better for the group if he and his Pokémon got acquainted to their new forms first. Since there seemed to be no further reason to stay in Vermillion City the three of them went to the Pokémon Center's rec. room to discuss where they would go next.

"Akuma," Kurishimi asked before they got started, "where's Totodile? I haven't seen him since the day I had my gym battle."

"Totodile decided that it had potential to be strong so it has begun its training."

"With you or did you let it go?" Kurishimi pressed.

Akuma held up a plain poké ball with the water element emblazoned above the button in response and gave a brief grin from one corner of his mouth. Kurishimi also smiled; glad that Akuma finally caught a Pokémon he'd been wanting.

"In any case, we should decide where we're going next," Akuma said as he replaced the poké ball to his straps. "We can head to the east for training, pay for a boat ride to the south, or go back through Saffron City to get to Celadon City. If we go south our stops would be Fuchsia City, Cinnabar Island, Pallet Town, or we could do harsh training at the twin Seafoam islands. Heading east would eventually bring us to Lavender Town or if we stayed on the road for a week we could walk to Fuchsia City instead. For starters I want to know if we should continue sticking together or split up for personal training for a while."

"I'm still new at traveling so I'll pretty much just follow wherever you go," Chad told Akuma.

"I don't really have anything in mind at the moment," Kurishimi said after a moment's thought. "What's available at each of those spots you mentioned?"

"Cinnabar is a volcanic island populated mostly by fire and poison Pokémon," Akuma explained. "Points of interest on the island include a Pokémon gym and a science museum. The gym is said to be hard to find and specializes in fire types. The museum is mostly a scientific research building but works with the Pewter City museum in fossil research and resurrection. If we should ever be lucky enough to find Pokémon fossils we can take them to the island and have them resurrected there, and no, I do not know or care how it's done.

"The Seafoam islands are a couple of islands out in the ocean. There's nothing of significant interest out there unless you want to catch ice type Pokémon or learn how to survive in extreme weather conditions. Personally I never plan to go there for no other reason than I detest cold weather. There is probably a lot more to them than I've mentioned but I haven't had enough interest or purpose to learn anything more than that.

"Fuchsia City is by far the best of the lot. In addition to a Pokémon gym they also have a Pokémon reserve where you can see rare Pokémon species. Pokémon captures in this area are forbidden, but there is also a Safari Zone with equally rare Pokémon where you can pay for a timed capture buffet of sorts. If you're perseverant, and have enough money for a few times through, you could find some rare species there. It's where I caught my Scyther and Dodrio a few years back. If you don't take a boat it can be a harsh road there, but I say the attractions for trainers and tourists alike is worth the effort.

"Pallet Town, I would say, is not worth the trip. Professor Oak has his lab in that area but that's about it. It's a small town with great scenery I will admit, but still too small to enjoy, much less plan a trip there unless you're only passing through. At least the people are friendly."

"What's in Lavender Town?" Chad asked when it seemed Akuma had finished.

Akuma tapped a finger on his knee for a moment while he thought. "There is a Pokémon graveyard for one thing."

Chad turned two shades whiter at the thought.

"Pokémon Tower is a dangerous place where ghost types can be found. I tried climbing to the top over a decade ago, but only made it halfway. The higher you go the stronger the wild Pokémon become."

"Anything else?" Chad probed.

"Only places of interest to me. There's nothing else you'd want to do there."

Chad and Kurishimi exchanged a look and decided not to ask any more.

"I may go to Lavender Town soon though. I have some things to take care of and there's someone I need to talk to. However I don't know if either of you would be allowed to come with me so I'm hesitant to bring you along."

"Is Lavender Town really that dull?" Kurishimi asked.

"It's a slum," Akuma simply told her. "It's more low class than where I caught Ariados when it was a Spinarak."

"That's… pretty bad," Kurishimi said to herself. "Are there any other places of interest around Lavender?"

"There is an abandoned power plant up north, but you would have to go over a mountain or through Rock Tunnel to get there since a recent landslide blocked the paths to the river. We might go in the future if one of us wants an electric type. That's all I can think of unless you want to go south for a popular fishing spot."

"What did you mean by us not being allowed to come?"

"That's personal business and I would appreciate it if you would forget about me having mentioned it to you."

"Ooookay then I will. How important is your business there anyway?"

"It's fairly important but not urgent. I don't know if it would take a few hours or a few days though."

"In that case we'd better go as soon as possible. Besides, we probably won't be in a more convenient place to get there for a long time and Chad needs to reacquaint himself with his 'new' Pokémon. When would we head out?"

It seemed that Kurishimi had decided for the group that they would be going to Lavender Town. After a brief discussion they chose to leave tomorrow afternoon. While Akuma was looking forward to taking care of business, none of them were pleased about the destination.

**Up to this point I was only writing a story for the sake of writing a story. This will not be the case anymore. While I enjoyed writing this much of the story as a hobby it isn't fair to expect other people to read nearly 30 chapters before things start happening. Fun though it may have been for me, it's unacceptable to expect others to enjoy it to the same degree which I openly and shamefully admit to having done. I'll update the story a little bit faster over the next month or two to finally get the plot moving in the direction it should have already gone and most people would have finished by now.**


	30. Home Is Where the Poverty Is

The next morning Akuma was on the phone when Chad and Kurishimi got up. Not wanting to bother him, they ate breakfast separately in the back room and got their supplies together for the trip later. When they were done Akuma was still talking to someone on the other line. Taking advantage of the moment, Kurishimi slipped into a back room where the staff was holding a package for her. She opened the box to confirm that the dome fossil inside was still intact then wrote a letter, put it in an envelope, and taped it to the top of the box. Following that, she quickly left the Pokémon Center to mail it back home where it would be safe. When she returned Akuma was just standing up from his seat in the corner all ready to go.

"After going over our available options for transport," Akuma began, "I believe the fastest way to get to our destination would be to fly there. By making use of Skarmory, Charizard, and Fearow while sticking to the main routes so we don't get lost, I estimate we could arrive in Lavender Town in a third of the time. Fearow will willingly take Chad while I ride on Charizard."

"Wouldn't it be safer for Chad to ride on Charizard since it would give better protection?"

"No, Charizard may have been having some problems lately. Besides, Chad is perfectly capable of protecting himself on his own now. He'll fly with Fearow for efficiency's sake. I assume you have Skarmory prepared?"

"I already made the exchange this morning. You have both Charizard and Fearow available too, right?"

"I always plan ahead. Let's get moving."

Akuma released Fearow beside Chad as he brought out Charizard and climbed onto its back. Kurishimi managed to find an awkward yet comfortable position on Skarmory's metal frame for a long trip while Fearow had to help Chad onto its back. When the three of them were finally ready Akuma had Charizard lift up into the sky followed by a nervous Chad and finally Kurishimi. Chad was scared of the flight for a good hour before he calmed down enough to remember to try enjoying the ride. Kurishimi was comfortable enough to enjoy the scenery early on while Akuma was busy paying careful attention to Charizard's condition.

Even though Charizard hadn't actually lost control like Akuma's other Pokémon had, he was still nervous about the comparative power when each one went berserk. It was odd though, that despite being Akuma's 'starter' Pokémon and having been with him for a long time, Charizard was still obedient without any signs otherwise. Of course there was always the initial disobedience upon evolution from Charmeleon but it had always been reliable for him otherwise. It didn't make sense that Charizard was still as tame as ever after all these years. Metagross had recently evolved, plus he never had much of a bond with it either which explained the disobedience there. He also had a bond with his former Magmar, but it always had a rebellious streak as well since before he captured it so it seemed natural for him to lose control of it when he did. Plus there was his seventh Pokémon that he couldn't seem to tame. Akuma had assumed that he would garner some respect from it upon capture, but it had still never even acknowledged Akuma unless it was about to attack him. Akuma made a mental note to recollect the first two gym badges he'd won when he was younger after they arrived in the city.

"Akuma, we've got trouble down below!" Kurishimi called over, breaking him from his thoughts as she did so. "There's a Beedrill swarm underneath us attacking a couple of young Pokémon."

Akuma located the Beedrill down below before steering Charizard down to sweep over them. The swarm didn't see or hear them coming over the sound of their wings until Charizard was upon them. The duo cut through the swarm with a spinning wing attack, then landed on the ground a few yards away while the Beedrill gathered their surroundings again. Akuma hopped off Charizard's back and recognized the Pokémon victims as a pair of Cubone that belonged to Mr. Fuji by the special bone clubs they carried.

"Charizard, high fire stream," Akuma commanded. Charizard used a flamethrower attack over the swarm which generated enough intense heat to drive most of the bug Pokémon away. Since Chad was now secure on Fearow's back, Akuma gave it commands too. "Fearow, hurt their retreat!" Fearow dive-bombed the retreating Beedrill with a pursuit strike, knocking down all of those in retreat except for one that it brought down with a precision peck attack. Chad was hanging on for his life the whole time. Then to everyone's surprise, Akuma sent out Totodile who nearly fainted at the sight of the approaching Beedrill. "Totodile, keep it together. Use your leer to lower their defenses so Charizard can finish them." Totodile did as commanded and while the Beedrill were distracted by the leer attack, Charizard swooped through them again with a wing attack. While the swarm was thrown off again, Charizard flew above the group before finishing them all with a direct flamethrower attack. After the flames subsided, Akuma threw a standard poké ball at the largest Beedrill and captured it almost instantly. After Akuma retrieved the poké ball the remaining Beedrill rose up as if to attack him again. Skarmory, Fearow, and Charizard all took positions to attack again, but Akuma raised a hand telling them to stand down while the swarm quickly approached him.

"Release!" Akuma called out as he sent out the Beedrill he'd just captured. Instead of the standard white light however, it was the light blue aura showing that Akuma had released it. The single Beedrill turned quickly toward him while the others froze just behind it. "I'll remove the Cubone peacefully. Go back to your hive immediately before we fight you seriously. I shouldn't need to point out the minimal effort I just used to stop you."

Convinced of their opponent's strength the Beedrill flew off toward the south while Kurishimi and Akuma checked the Cubone. The two were still healthy, being only a little frightened by the attacks from both sides. Both trainers picked up one each, then started the flight again until the Cubone Akuma was carrying began to panic after rising into the air. Akuma figured the youngster to be afraid of flying so he instructed the other two to go to Lavender Town ahead of him with the second Cubone.

"Will you be alright with that Cubone on your own until then?" Kurishimi asked him.

"We'll be fine," Akuma reassured her. "With the exception of Cleffa and Totodile all my Pokémon are combat ready. When you get to Lavender Town find the Pokémon Center and ask the nurse to call a Mr. Fuji to the center. When he arrives ask him what his second Pokémon was that he caught. He should tell you it was a Growlithe. If anyone tries to tell you that they came in place of Mr. Fuji, they can take you where he lives, or they can guide you to the Pokémon Center on your way, do not trust them. Get away from them as quickly as possible or fight your way through. Do not let them have the Cubone. If Mr. Fuji asks, you may explain how and from where the Cubone was found. Fuji may offer to take you to a safe house until I arrive and you should do so. He is an ally and can be trusted."

"Not the most reputable town is it?" Kurishimi noted from his warnings.

"No, it's the worst. Don't let your guard down and lock the doors when you go to sleep. Don't go out either unless you have to and don't look for me; I'll find you when I arrive. Chad, take Fearow's poké ball and both of you hide all your poké balls from view. Pickpockets are very common. Give Fearow's poké ball to Fuji as well. Let him know it's mine. I'll show up after a few days time I believe if there are no complications."

"Okay Chad, let's get going." Kurishimi took her position again on Skarmory's back while Akuma helped Chad get situated on Fearow. "You're sure you'll be safe on your own?" she asked again.

"I'll be fine, mother. I don't need a sweater and I have clean underwear. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself," Akuma said dryly. "I know how to survive on my own. I've done it for years, now get moving."

Having been given the definitive final brush-off Kurishimi took flight with Chad, holding the second Cubone close to her chest as Skarmory flew away. She looked back just once before she lost sight of him and briefly chewed her lip. Chad noticed she was feeling down so he had Fearow glide a bit closer to Skarmory.

"Are you really that worried about the guy?" he asked Kurishimi. "Like he said, he'll be fine on his own. He was by himself long before either of us showed up and he's done perfectly fine on his own ever since. He frequently leaves the group and hasn't had any problems besides the thing with Raikou. If anything I'd say he prefers being by himself."

"I know all that Chad, but I've been around Akuma long enough to identify the poké balls that he carries along with the Pokémon they contain. He admitted to be in current possession of Totodile and Cleffa, both of which are nowhere near combat ready. Totodile can't even fire its water gun when last I checked and Cleffa's still only a baby. He lent you Fearow which counts for half his Pokémon team. He does have Charizard, but he mentioned that he was experiencing some trouble with it lately which makes it a possibly unreliable last resort in a battle. His last two Pokémon are Gastly and Infernape who are also good Pokémon. Unfortunately Gastly is a support member over a fighter and even though Infernape is more than competent there is no way he can fall back on Infernape for everything. I think Akuma might be overconfident this time."

Chad was starting to grow worried as well now. It wouldn't do for both of them to be this way of course, so he kept trying to cheer Kurishimi up in the hopes he could convince himself to do the same. "Maybe we're just over thinking things. This is Akuma we're talking about if you remember. I'm sure situations like this are something he plans for in his head long in advance. It'll be no harder than walking across a fallen tree for him. Besides, he's been with Gastly and Charizard since his early days so they've seen just as many problems as Akuma. Gastly's tough enough to take whatever the world throws at it while Charizard would protect Akuma with its dying breath. Even if worse does come to worst we haven't seen Totodile and the results of its training in almost a week other than the brief spat with the Beedrill. If Akuma could somehow temper a cowardly Pokémon like that Totodile to use a leer on the entire Beedrill swarm without running away within a week's time I'm sure he can handle any possible emergency that comes up. Akuma is the best trainer there is. He'll be walking into Lavender Town in a couple days just as cranky as ever, you'll see."

Kurishimi allowed herself a small laugh at Chad's words. "You're right I suppose. You'd think after being around him for longer than most people could endure I would know that much about him by now. I guess I really am just over thinking things again. It may be bad luck to say so, but what's the worst that could really happen to him?"

As the sun began to set, Kurishimi and Chad arrived at the outskirts of Lavender Town. Just as Akuma had promised they realized it was the worst place in the region for them to visit. Houses, if they could be called houses, were falling apart with nothing to hold them up. Cardboard shelters that had been soaked by rain and weathered over time provided more reliable shelter than the still standing structures. The few people that could be seen were starved to the point where they appeared more like skeletons than people. The city appeared barren of Pokémon life; not even a passing Pidgey was in view.

Kurishimi and Chad made sure to conceal their poké balls before entering the city. Based on what they were witnessing their Pokémon would probably be stolen and sold off to anyone else passing through. Having grown up in a middle class city, Chad was highly disturbed by the sights around him. He kept close to Kurishimi while his eyes darted back and forth to each moving shadow. As they approached the inner city Chad started seeing movement from the corner of his eyes but when he turned to look in those directions there was nothing. Both of them began to feel afraid in addition to disturbed as various sets of eyes watched them walk through town. Kurishimi was chewing her lip again while Chad clung to her arm. They were both relieved when the red roof of the Pokémon Center finally appeared.

The antsy nurse quickly checked them in and seemed in a rush to leave them to their business until Kurishimi mentioned Mr. Fuji. After that the nurse quickly became respectful; leading them to a special room where she ensured their privacy while the older man was summoned.

"This is supposed to be Akuma's home?" Chad thought out loud after the nurse had left. "How did he survive this place when he was younger?"

"I'm beginning to think that he can survive for a couple days on his own even more now," Kurishimi added. "I felt like crippled prey surrounded by predators waiting to make the kill on our way here. What on earth happened to this place?"

"Either everybody is saving money by living outside or the stock market vaporized overnight," Chad offered.

"I'm worried about what kind of contacts Akuma would have in this place. And for an old man to offer superior protection, much less live in this city, I find it hard to believe. Based on our special treatment I'm thinking Mr. Fuji holds a lot of prestige around here. Oh dear, I hope he's not a crime lord or anything."

Chad's eyes widened at the thought. "Could Akuma be involved with criminals?"

"Come to think of it, he sure doesn't act like one of the good guys we'd expect. Plus he's always going off to do things in secret without telling us any details. He's always at odds with Team Rocket so they could be a rival criminal group or something like that. Maybe Akuma is actually a criminal and Mr. Fuji is his gang boss or something like that!"

Chad quickly cut her off. "Wait, no, that doesn't make any sense for us though. Akuma could've taken advantage of us at any time and gotten away cleanly. Even in the middle of the city he's good like that."

"Well what about our first night in Saffron City? After Akuma crippled Team Rocket he took off before the police arrived. He didn't come back until long after they left too. Hey, you were with him at the Cerulean cape weren't you? What did he do there?"

"Akuma gave Bill four poké balls that he said were taken from thieves. He told Bill the four poké balls weren't with the other ones that had been stolen, but he'd recovered them separately. The release button on one poké ball was broken. Bill mentioned it was the poké ball for his Flameon."

"You mean Flareon?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"So that means Akuma is a thief that steals from other thieves and then profits from the spoils? That's pretty bold of him."

Chad groaned. "Kurishimi, we don't even know if any of this is true. We're just making wild guesses. Maybe he's some kind of police officer for all we know."

"Any police officer who acts like him would be discharged."

"What about a special agent then?"

"In this dingy town? I highly doubt that."

The two of them continued to guess at Akuma's relations to the city and people for ten more minutes before the nurse came to get them. She brought them both to the front doors where an old man was waiting for them, flanked by two tough looking bodyguards. Kurishimi knew they were tough, but she still believed Akuma could beat them both without breaking a sweat. The old man was leaning forward on his cane while inspecting the two of them with squinty eyes and a mysterious smile. He stepped forward to greet them as they came closer.

"So you two are the pair that called me out here, yes? What business might you have with me then?"

"That's correct," Kurishimi answered. "Before we speak though, I need to know that you are really Mr. Fuji if you don't mind." The old man nodded slowly. "What was the first Pokémon you ever caught?"

"Somewhat of a personal question you're asking, isn't it?" one of the bodyguards noted.

"That's my question and my decision to make," Kurishimi told him. After responding she realized it was a very Akuma-like reply she'd just given. She tried to ignore the fact by readdressing the old man, "What is your answer?"

"Oh ho ho, quite the question you've posed for me young one. And yet your question itself is a message for me, but I digress. My first Pokémon was a Growlithe. That was what you wanted to hear is it not?"

Kurishimi relaxed slightly. "Yes, I'm glad you got here before anyone else Mr. Fuji. My name is Kurishimi, and this is Chad. We are traveling companions of one of your acquaintances I believe."

"That you are my dear, though I hadn't known this young one's name until now. Nevertheless you were both spoken highly of from the reports I've heard. Now then, what is your business with me? I assume you are both here by yourselves?"

"Yes sir, we are. Chad, go get Mr. Fuji's Pokémon from the nurse." Chad quickly ran to the counter and returned with the Cubone in his arms. "We found this Cubone on our way here. There were actually two of them, but the other one was too afraid of flying. It'll be here in a few days time we believe. Chad also has something else he was told to hand over to you."

Chad handed Mr. Fuji Akuma's poké ball. "I didn't have a flying Pokémon so he lent me his Fearow."

Mr. Fuji took the poké ball and opened it to check on Fearow. "Ah yes, I see Fearow has been treated well these past few days. What's this? Oh my, you've learned agility recently as well, haven't you, Fearow?"

"Wow Mr. Fuji, how did you know that?" Chad exclaimed.

Mr. Fuji smiled back at the boy. "I make it a point to know my hunter's Pokémon, young one. I have a bond with them just as much as their trainers do and I sense that Fearow has learned much since I last saw it. Would have been nice if you had learned that move a few months ago though, Fearow. I needed that extra speed burst while we were in Fuchsia City together so my arm wouldn't have broken."

Kurishimi took careful notice of the way Fuji used the word 'hunters'. Now she knew that Akuma was known as a hunter outside of Team Rocket as well. It could have been a code name of sorts or maybe a special rank?

"Now then, we can't have you two staying in a public place in this town. It can be dangerous, no offense nurse." The nurse nodded understandingly. "You two should stay at my place tonight. You'll be safe there."

"Sir, wait a moment!" one of the bodyguards protested. "Are you sure we can trust them?"

"Oh stop being rude, Miko. These two are our special guests tonight, or at least until the second Cubone arrives. I'm quite sure we will be safe."

"But sir, what about their companion? Please let me send out a couple hunters to make sure he is trustworthy as well."

Mr. Fuji brought his cane to the ground with a loud whack. "Miko, enough! I know very well that we will be safe. If you must know, their companion is one of our own. His name is Akuma, I believe you know him too."

Miko's jaw dropped while the other bodyguard jumped in shock. "A-Akuma? These two are traveling with the grandmaster Lord Akuma?"

Fuji smirked and chuckled at their reactions. "Yes, with Akuma. Now come, we shouldn't be in one place for too long."

Kurishimi and Chad stared wide-eyed at the three walking out the door then turned to each other.

"Lord Akuma?" Kurishimi repeated.

"Grand… master?" Chad said in disbelief.

**Out of curiosity, am I the only person who pictures Mr. Fuji as the villain from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness? Yes? No? Okay. The next chapter is probably my sister's favorite so far. It's something to look forward to for a few good laughs.**


	31. Fangirl

Akuma carried the young Cubone on his shoulders as they continued east toward the fishing spots which would lead them directly to Lavender Town after a couple days. Down at ground level, Totodile walked alongside Akuma to take in the scenery. Every few minutes Akuma would have it perform a simple stunt while walking so they could both understand Totodile's capabilities in terms of physical conditioning. There were no complex movements, only simple things such as a quick sprint, jumping, and spinning dodges to name a few. Cubone stayed silent during the whole process, only showing interest when Totodile performed well. However because Totodile didn't have a combative background many of its movements were still clunky and sluggish. Akuma thought about having some of his own Pokémon teach Totodile how to move effectively, but they were used to battle whereas Totodile had, until recently, preferred to run away. If nothing else, at least it was good at fast sprints. After Akuma realized Totodile wasn't making any progress he changed his analysis to notice other talents Totodile might have instead. Even then he couldn't find anything.

While his Pokémon was still a Totodile, Akuma would have to take notice of its major strengths and weaknesses followed by formulating training sessions based on these characteristics which would heavily influence Totodile's rate of growth. When Totodile eventually evolved into Croconaw the training would then shift to focusing solely on offensive strategies for close combat and endurance. Upon evolving a final time to Feraligatr the lesser focused areas would be tempered to complement Feraligatr's offensive capabilities as well as adding special characteristics into the battle strategies and survival techniques. At least, this was the way Akuma had learned to train his other Pokémon. With most of his three-stage evolutionary Pokémon, Akuma had found this form of training to be perfect for offensive battlers. Sadly, he wasn't making any progress with Totodile in the same way.

Each Pokémon grew at its own steady pace for sure, but Totodile seemed incompatible with previous training lessons. Akuma was beginning to get frustrated with himself. Not only did he want a strong water type Pokémon, but he had promised to temper Totodile into a real fighter. He wasn't going to cut his promise, but he couldn't think of a way to fulfill it at the moment. There had to be something else he wasn't getting. Perhaps he needed to devise a new training method specifically for Totodile. But that would need to wait until later. Right now he had to focus on getting Cubone safely to Lavender Town, and judging by events over the past month it wouldn't be easy.

Based on his observations Team Rocket was either becoming more frequent in recent activities or they were focusing on him more than usual. During the last encounter it had been confirmed that at least three Rocket members were trying to recapture the poké balls they had previously stolen from Bill, thinking that Akuma still carried the collection instead of returning them to the rightful owner. It was obsessive foolishness of course, but it had been a while since they had come after the group so they were due for another attack soon, or so he estimated. Training a Pokémon, protecting another, and battling with a third would have him possibly too far stretched to perform his best. Training Totodile was a low priority at the moment. Being by himself in the open left him an easy target for ambushes or a mass attack.

"Okay Cubone, break time is over. My neck is getting really sore now," Akuma said as he brought the Cubone down from his shoulders. "I can't carry you all the way. You need to walk for a while now." Totodile ran over to its trainer and jumped up and down in a begging fashion. "No Totodile, I just got Cubone off my shoulders. I need to rest for a bit. Unless you're saying you want to go back inside your poké ball which I can fix." Totodile shook its head quickly. "We'll walk for a while then. In a couple hours we'll stop for lunch. Since we're getting close to the beach we can go fishing for some food, or at least you can. It'll be a welcome change from the berries we usually snack on."

The two Pokémon walked out in front while Akuma stayed further back so he could keep an eye on them. He also watched the tall grass on either side for approaching Pokémon that might attack the younger two. Fortunately the trip was a boring one. No trainers or aggressive wild Pokémon appeared for a few hours. Akuma began to feel tired as the warm afternoon sun had its effects on him along with the two Pokémon in the lead. He was thinking about taking a break for a short nap off road somewhere when he heard a quickly approaching rustling from the grass to his left. Acting quickly, Akuma snatched Gastly's poké ball from its holding strap as he called for Cubone and Totodile to return behind him as quickly as they could. Totodile got behind him quickly with its signature short sprint, but Cubone tripped and fell to the ground a couple yards away. Akuma was about to rush over when the approaching Pokémon burst out from the grass.

The new Pokémon's appearance was that of a yellow sheep with horizontal cone shaped ears of black and yellow stripes which protruded from the side of its head. It had no legs to speak of, but it did have stubby feet underneath its wooly body which encompassed the majority of the Pokémon. Its tail was also striped with black and yellow colors, ending in a shining yellow globe. Finally it had a cute blue face, but this particular Pokémon, which was named Mareep, didn't seem quite as cute while flinching in pain and thrashing about every time it jumped. Every time it leapt into the air electric bolts escaped from the wool. Akuma realized it must have been attacked after wandering into another Pokémon's territory, but it was a rare occurrence to find a Mareep in Kanto when Mareep herds were raised in the Johto regions; the only exception being a few private ranches in Sinnoh.

Nevertheless, a bothered Mareep was a problem that had to be dealt with quickly before it could do any remarkable damage. Akuma was about to call out Gastly while wishing he had Dugtrio's poké ball with him when he realized Cubone was a ground type which was totally immune to Mareep's electrical attacks as well as being the only Pokémon type to have an advantage over electric Pokémon.

"Quickly Cubone, use your bone club to stop that Mareep's escape!" Akuma called out.

Cubone looked up to see the Mareep escaping into the tall grass again, much too far for a bone club attack to reach. Instead it threw its bone at the Mareep, knocking it aside with a bonemarang attack. The bone continued to fly onward then turned back and smacked the Mareep one more time before returning to Cubone's awaiting hand. Having used the bought time to close the distance, Cubone quickly beat Mareep across the forehead with a bone club strike that knocked it to the ground.

"Or you could improvise I suppose," Akuma said quietly after Cubone had finished the routine. He walked over to inspect the Mareep more closely now that he had the opportunity. There were no apparent injuries so Akuma assumed the thrashing may have come from a confuse ray or supersonic attack of some kind which would have made the Mareep confused and thus causing a panic. Based on the area he assumed it may have encountered a Drowzee, the only Pokémon he could think of that could cause confusion in this area since it was still much too bright for a Zubat to appear. As he wondered whether the Mareep was wild or not, he heard an approaching voice calling out to it. Not wanting to cause any misunderstandings, Akuma stood up and backed a few steps away from the Pokémon before he could be seen next to it. Three seconds passed before the Mareep's trainer appeared from the tall grass next to the road.

The girl was in her mid-to-late-teens, wearing casual clothes, and carrying a small trainer bag for light traveling. She had three poké balls at her waist with one more in her hand. There was nothing unremarkable about her other than her eye color which was a shining golden yellow. She looked like an average trainer anyone might find in their travels from town to town. When she spotted her Mareep she began to hurry over, but stopped when she noted the older boy standing a few feet away.

"Hey, don't I know you?" she asked Akuma after staring a moment.

"Probably, or I'm just one of those faces," Akuma replied.

"No, no, you definitely look like someone I should know. Were you at the Rattata races last week?"

"I wasn't."

"Maybe the ghost hunting competition?"

"Not likely."

"I got it! You were at the beach party yesterday!"

"Ugh, I certainly hope not," Akuma replied in disgust.

"Darn it. What about TV programs then?"

"Okay, now you're just guessing at random. Can I go please?" Akuma said with a shake of his head.

"Nuh-uh, you gotta help me out here. Come on, I'm sure I know you from somewhere."

Akuma gave up and dropped his poké balls containing Infernape, Charizard, and Gastly to the ground, releasing the Pokémon on each side of him. "Does this help you at all?" He asked in exasperation.

The girl came closer to study his Pokémon with what was probably fake interest briefly before her eyes lit up. "Ah ha! Do you have a Metang too?"

"I did last month, but it evolved a while ago."

"That's it, I knew I'd seen you somewhere before! You're the guy who took out all those thieves in the Pewter City museum. I was one of the people in the building at the time. You had your Metang rescue me from one of the thieves using me as a shield. You left before I could thank you properly."

Akuma thought back, taking longer then the girl could apparently tolerate.

"Oh come on, I can't be that hard to forget can I?"

Akuma ignored her question. "Ah yes, now I remember. You tried to subdue one of the guards with a Caterpie's string shot, but he broke out, kicked your Caterpie away, used you as his get-away shield, and I had to risk losing two other thieves to get him away from you."

"Bingo! Two points for you," the girl cheered as Akuma covered one ear. "Why did you run off like that before I could thank you?"

"I had to retrieve the other two thieves that tried to get away while I was forced to help you," Akuma repeated as he used every bit of patience he could to endure the loud girl's exclamations. "Fortunately they hadn't left the building before I brought them down."

"You still could've come back to see if I was alright," the girl pouted.

"There was no need," Akuma explained. "Metang hit its target without any error so you were undamaged. The man didn't harm you before he collapsed and wouldn't have gotten back up after taking a blow like that. You were still conscious and were not experiencing any forms of shock either from what I could tell. Returning to check on your condition, physical or otherwise, would have been a waste of time. Detaining the criminals was what mattered most. By the time I was finished you were probably moving around on your own anyway. There was no need to worry about you anymore."

"Well you still didn't have to leave the museum and city so quickly afterward either. I'm sure a lot of other people wanted to thank you too."

"I spoke to the people in charge of the museum as well as key staff members working there at the time. When I was done there was no point in staying so I left."

"But I wanted to thank you too."

"You spoke a word of thanks before I left you. That was all that was necessary."

"Not to me it wasn't! You kept that man from hurting me or worse. I wanted to thank you properly in person, but I didn't get the chance before you left."

Akuma sighed and shook his head. If it would make the noisy girl leave him alone he would have to humor her. "Very well, I'll accept it." He held his hand expecting her to give him something, but she just stared at his hand questioningly. "Well what else do you want?" Akuma pressed her.

"That uh… wasn't what I had in mind actually," she said hesitantly.

"Well hurry it up then, I don't have all day."

The girl looked at the ground and squirmed slightly while Akuma grew more impatient.

"If you aren't going to do anything I need to leave now. I'm pressed for ti- augh!" The girl had tackled Akuma in a tight hug and was leaning forward as if to kiss him! Akuma quickly stuck a hand between their faces and pushed the girl away and off him before she could do anything more. "None of that. What are you doing?" he almost yelled at her.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked timidly while she blushed. Akuma was nearly surprised at the drastic volume change. "Isn't that what all guys would want, or something like that?"

"Infernape, if she tries that again hit her with a mach punch. I'm not like most guys. Do that again and you'll be eating your meals through a straw," he growled at her.

"But why wouldn't you…? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were… one of those kinds of guys."

Akuma wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed, insulted, or angrier. "I am not, I'm straight! Male to female only here."

"Uh… so you have a girlfriend then, right?"

"Oh for the love of… No I don't. I just don't like any form of intimacy. Stop with the crazy talk already."

"Say who what now? But that doesn't make any sense. You can't be completely against stuff like that."

"I have no reason to take time to explain the ins and outs of my beliefs regarding those kinds of relations," Akuma carefully said. "My reasons are my reasons and my business only. You don't deserve to know anything about me on that level or any other for that matter. You don't owe me a thing and you put the favor on a much higher level than it deserves. I saved you because I didn't want to have a nagging conscience later on. I never expected repayment or any form of gratitude, much less running into you again at any time."

"Maybe so, but I still kind of… um… like you that way." The girl looked down at her toes as she spoke, unable to look Akuma in the eye.

Akuma tried to contain himself. He hated it when he had to put up with love-struck females. "No you do not. You have a crush, that's all it is and all it will ever be. You are looking for and pursuing emotions that are not real. You are only misinterpreting core feelings of gratitude for romantic longing. I know what I'm talking about. You aren't the first and I can guarantee you won't be the last by a long shot. If you've got time to think about love you aren't training your Pokémon hard enough. You won't get anything but a knife in the heart when you notice it for yourself unless you fix your heart and your head right now."

"I guess you're right." The girl looked up at him with a satisfied smile. "I suppose since you've got experience with that kind of stuff you'd know best wouldn't you?"

"Believe me I've got more experience than I care to. I'm not your type either."

"Oh, and what is my type?"

_Busted._ Akuma thought to himself. "I don't have a clue, but it's not me at all. I'm the kind that would make you afraid to run into me, not cause happiness. I am brutal, merciless, crude, and a loner. I can tell that you don't want to be around my type of person."

"Aren't you selling yourself short? You can't be all that."

"No, I am 'all that' and more. My Pokémon are evidence of that."

"They seem alright to me. I can tell you've raised them well enough to be great battlers. That's a good trait to have is it not?"

Akuma shook his head. "You obviously aren't getting the point. Infernape, show her your flamethrower attack from the time before we began practicing."

Infernape complied by blowing a red hot flamethrower down the road that came close to the grass, but didn't ignite anything.

"Wow, that was a pretty controlled flamethrower. How long did you work on that?" the girl asked.

"We didn't. That was an uncontrolled flamethrower attack of low power compared to others Infernape is capable of doing. There was too much color in the flames and the damage that would have been inflicted was sparse. Now show her your full power flamethrower attack, Infernape. And you might want to give him some room," he added as he took a few steps back.

Once people and Pokémon were at a safe distance, Infernape crouched to the ground on all fives for support and inhaled deeply. Aiming at the sky, he fired an explosive flamethrower of incredible size and power which discolored the grass and rocks around him. When the attack was launched a brief ripple of fire popped from Infernape's mouth as well. Instead of a stream of fire the attack was formed as a gigantic ball of fire that stopped its advance after a certain distance. Inside the sphere, fire could be seen swirling and mixing with the gases Infernape was putting out. Akuma and the girl had to turn away from the blast because the heat was so intense. The attack lasted three seconds before Infernape cut the power. The flames even lasted another half second before they were extinguished.

"Sweet mother of Clamperl, what in the name of Arceus was that?" the girl cried out.

"The result of four month's training on nothing but the power of flamethrower attacks," Akuma explained as he slapped at a smoldering piece of fabric on his shirt sleeve. "My Pokémon take after me in the results of training. We are all brutal and efficient with no room for error. Only four other people have been able to get results such as this from intense training. If you thought that was overwhelming you should see Charizard's fire blast, though we aren't done tempering it just yet."

"Uh, I'll definitely pass unless I get five miles of grace in running distance first," the girl replied as her eye twitched at the thought of it. "What about this Totodile? Can it flood a city with a simple water gun?"

"That's probably impossible, even for a Blastoise. Totodile just started training with me. It hasn't learned a sufficient water gun attack yet. Show her what you can do, Totodile." The little Pokémon complied by spitting a water sphere out of its mouth that splashed harmlessly onto a rock a couple feet away. "We're still working on how Totodile needs to be trained at the moment. I think it's more capable than my Infernape and Gastly were when I first met them, but I don't have experience with water Pokémon so I'm learning while I teach. What are you doing?"

The girl was holding open Totodile's mouth so she could look inside. Ignoring Akuma's question she rubbed its back and stomach then asked it to fire another water gun. After Totodile did so three times she nodded and stood up.

"Totodile is having trouble firing its water gun correctly," she stated.

Akuma rolled his eyes. "Brilliant work, detective. Would you like to tell us where babies come from next?"

"That's easy. Pokémon come from Pokémon eggs so babies come from people eggs!" Akuma couldn't tell whether she was joking or incredibly stupid. "But seriously, Totodile can't fire its water gun properly even though it technically should be able to by now. If you're lucky the problem should be fixed once it evolves, but I'd suggest taking it to a specialist who can tell you details for sure. I agree with you though. It feels like your Totodile has a strong set of lungs. If it knew hydro pump I'd wager it could punch a hole through three inches of steel."

Totodile made a face when it heard that comment. "Seems to me this little one is more dangerous than either of us initially thought," Akuma said to himself. "But I have to get going now. I've lost a lot of time here."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I should've guessed you were busy. Thanks for helping my Mareep by the way. We're even since I helped you learn about your Totodile too, but I still owe you for that time back in Pewter City."

"If I ever need assistance from someone outside my associated group I'll contact you," Akuma said with a nod. He pulled a card from one of his vest pockets. "In case you need to get hold of me to return the favor at your best convenience, use this. Only use it in an emergency though. I'll be there almost instantly."

The girl looked at the front and back of the card confusingly. "Um, who will I be asking for?"

"What?"

"Your name, what is it? It would be proper to know the name of the person I'm calling wouldn't it?"

"Akuma Masurao. Don't try to spell that, just remember how it sounds."

"Brianna Rennis."

"What is that?"

"My name is Brianna Rennis. I'm not a name leech."

"Very well Brianna. I'll remember you next time I see you. Farewell."

Akuma returned his Pokémon, including Totodile, to their poké balls and walked down the road with Cubone at his feet. After a few minutes he looked behind him to see if she was following him, which she wasn't. Finally alone he resumed his usual frown.

"Women," he said to nobody.

Brianna watched Akuma leave then turned down the road to Vermillion City. Even though she had been rejected, she walked away with a smile on her face. She was humming a song in her head when three people dressed in black with a large letter R on their shirts appeared in front of her. Sensing trouble she stopped within listening distance.

"Young lady," the man in front said to her, "we need you to come with us right away."

**It might have seemed like another silly and pointless chapter, but this was actually a forced plot point that could have been done so much better. I might have to make a branching path fanfiction just to test how this could have started otherwise for the heck of it. No, I probably won't upload it. Might not even write it either since I'm just thinking out loud. Or something like that. Also I hope you like exposition because I'm putting a massive amount of it into the next two chapters. So much in fact that it would've been too long for a single chapter.**

**Also I figured out why it took me this long just to put in a concrete plot: I read too many webcomics.**


	32. History Lesson

**This chapter may seem a bit messy to fans. It'll blur the line between games, manga, and the nonexistent socially acceptable timeline of the series. There's sort of an inbetween year I could probably put the story in, but I'm not interested in doing the research so unfortunately the only half-baked stupid excuse for this potential mishmash is, "It's my fanfiction and this is what I'm doing." But I think it turns out kind of fun this way. Still, it might not hurt to take notes to keep track of what's going on. Just as a heads up. **

Fuji's house seemed just like any of the other houses in Lavender, but unlike the others there were no homeless people to be seen on the streets around it. Kurishimi and Chad couldn't see any physical differences between it and the other houses beyond the fact it was sturdy enough to support a second floor until they came inside and found it to be well furnished and decorated. Fuji gave them a couple seconds to look around before taking them upstairs and showing them to separate rooms. Kurishimi noticed heavy equipment and large computers in some rooms, but wasn't allowed sufficient pause to get a good look inside. After she was taken to her room she started looking at the pictures decorating the walls and found separate pictures of both Surge and Akuma, with two of those pictures being of Akuma.

Surge was standing in front of his gym next to a Raichu and Magneton with one arm raised in motion towards the gym. Kurishimi assumed it was a picture of when Surge became the gym leader of Vermillion.

Akuma's first picture was from back when he was a young boy. He was wearing an open mouthed smile while hugging a Charmander beside an older male in his late teens while Gastly floated over the boy's shoulder. The other person was looking down at Akuma with a soft smile with one hand patting his head, but his eyes were blank and soulless as if the smile was being faked. Kurishimi didn't recognize the boy or feel anything familiar from him, but he did bear a slight resemblance to the Akuma of today. It was most likely the dead uncaring expression he wore though.

The second picture of Akuma was from when he was in his early teen years. He stood beside a posing Charmeleon and Gastly, and at his feet was a purple blob of a Pokémon. Kurishimi checked her pokédex to find it was a Pokémon named Ditto whose only skill was to transform into other Pokémon and fight with the transformed Pokémon's abilities. Kurishimi didn't need the pokédex to tell her it was difficult to raise one of those Pokémon. Akuma himself wasn't quite as enthusiastic in this picture. He was still smiling, but it was a peaceful, content, and confident smile. It looked so natural that Kurishimi wondered why Akuma didn't smile regularly anymore.

But it was late enough already and she didn't want to be up at night in a strange town. Kurishimi was tired anyway so she changed her clothes and went to bed.

In the morning after Kurishimi came out of her room there was someone waiting for her outside the door. He took her to a dining room where Chad and one other person were already seated. They were informed they would be served breakfast shortly. After Mr. Fuji and three others joined them breakfast was served. As they ate, Mr. Fuji asked Kurishimi and Chad to recount their recent experiences with Akuma to him. Once again at the mention of Akuma's name the other people in the room became frightened and amazed just as the last two people had been. Mr. Fuji ignored their reactions so Kurishimi and Chad decided to do the same. Kurishimi relayed her story from the battle before she and Akuma entered Mt. Moon to the time when they entered Saffron City. From there Chad took the opportunity to introduce himself, then told about his first meeting and the two of them went back and forth until after the battle at night with Team Rocket. Mr. Fuji listened intently, as did the other people at the table, occasionally asking small questions when the story tellers missed a detail. After the description of the nightly battle Fuji was satisfied and rose from the table. All the people left the room through various doors except for one who appeared to remain in order to stay with the older man. Fuji requested that the younger trainers accompany him for a tour throughout the facility when Kurishimi finally spoke up.

"Mr. Fuji, we appreciate your hospitality greatly, but we're very confused about this entire situation. We only recently found out that Akuma came from Lavender Town but besides that we've been completely in the dark about everything related to him. After all this time we don't know who Akuma really is or what he does. Until he mentioned you we never thought he had any friends or acquaintances other than Surge or maybe Bill. You mentioned Akuma was a 'hunter' last night and whenever we mention his name around here we see strange looks between other people or shocked and frightened faces as best we can interpret. Even though Akuma suggested we come to you specifically we have no clue about who you are either. We've been trying to figure out what this whole thing means and what your relationships are, but we haven't come up with anything pleasant. While I would personally enjoy a tour of your operation or business or whatever it is you do here I would prefer to know just who and what you are before we do anything else."

Mr. Fuji tapped a finger on his cane as Kurishimi pleaded her case. "So Akuma has told you nothing about us, correct?"

"That's right. Whenever I ask him he says it isn't our business or when he's in a good mood he says that if he does tell us anything it won't make a difference in our training. I do know that he used to be a trainer like we are and that he collected two badges once upon a time as well as the fact that he has a personal vendetta against Team Rocket for reasons he didn't want to mention. He could be nobody, a hero, a master, or a criminal for all we know. Mr. Fuji, please can you give us some answers?"

Mr. Fuji sat back down in his chair and thought quietly to himself while Kurishimi and Chad waited politely. Finally he said, "Very well, but it's a long story. If you have little patience I suggest you change your mind now."

"I asked for an explanation, I'll be fine with waiting," Kurishimi confirmed.

"I'm pretty curious about him too. I can wait through a long story," Chad said.

Mr. Fuji smiled at their responses and wasted no time in beginning his story.

"First I will give you some background leading up to the events of today. Some eighty years ago my daughter, Amber, was killed in a terrible accident. I was heartbroken and refused to accept her death. I contacted the research facility on Cinnabar Island that had just succeeded in resurrecting the first Pokémon fossil. I asked them if they could resurrect a person in the same way by using fresh DNA samples. I was a fool for trying to do so, but I was so stricken with grief that I simply didn't care anymore. Unfortunately the procedure would cost far more money than I could afford so I contacted the only man I knew who could help me. That man was named Giovanni, the former head of Team Rocket in those days. He agreed to provide funding in return for my asking the research team to create a special clone of his choosing. Without thinking about the consequences I agreed. A few months later the facility was demolished by a massive explosion of unknown origins. I later found out he had commissioned a clone of the Pokémon Mew, but it had been genetically altered to become the most powerful Pokémon in the world and had destroyed the laboratory in its escape. I assume Giovanni attempted numerous times to get it back and failed because he soon contacted me with a new proposition. Because the cloning facility had been destroyed there was no way for me to resurrect my daughter. I had since resigned to let her spirit rest, but Giovanni could rebuild the facility in exchange for my help. Once again I was blinded and agreed to assist him.

"My job was to find and capture this Pokémon and bring it to Giovanni. He would then begin work on bringing Amber back to life. I assembled the strongest trainers and Pokémon I could find and set out to capture this Pokémon. After a long time we found it and tried to capture it, but my team was destroyed almost instantly. The Pokémon was much too powerful for us to handle. The best of the best didn't even get an opportunity to begin trying. Those that managed to survive came back to me to give their report. Finally I gave up on the chance to get my daughter back and never tried again. I told Giovanni that I had to withdraw from our agreement. Since neither of us had gained or lost any more than the other he agreed to terminate our partnership. However I realized from this whole ordeal that even the best of trainers have their limits. To help those who wanted to surpass their potential I founded this organization under a different name than it currently has. I began to train anyone with high skills who felt like they and their Pokémon weren't battling at their full potential. Because we were all limited in our Pokémon knowledge we helped each other grow and learn as we went along. In time many people dropped out after the training sessions we had devised became too difficult for their Pokémon to safely handle. Only a small handful remained in the end, but they all learned from each other and in time they became the strongest trainers I knew, even more powerful than those I had originally sent to recapture the clone.

"Soon others began to hear of my men due to rumors among what remained of the town's population at the time. Some believed we were raising an army while others thought we were planning a revolution of sorts. The Elite Four and Pokémon champion from the Kanto Pokémon League eventually got wind of these rumors and came by to investigate as well. We were open and honest with them of course since we had nothing to hide. Three of them were even interested in staying to train as well! While they initially didn't approve of some of our methods they came to understand our dedication in due time. We also learned that we needed to adjust our training for those who were not used to the way we worked however strong or weak they may be. Unfortunately we became bored with our abilities and began to grow stale. There was no point in staying strong after reaching the final goal we had set for ourselves.

"About that time we were known among every city from here to the Hoenn region. There were also a great deal of troubles in the world at that time and we wanted to help where we were able. Those who were able to would hire us for various jobs and we accepted. During some emergency situations we assisted in the arrest of various small criminal groups as well. We even managed to arrest Giovanni's successor after his retirement. Of course we were not the police, but we did work with them. There were soon many who knew of us to the point where we couldn't keep up with the requests we received. It was what we refer to as our golden years. But as you can tell, we aren't very well known anymore among the common folk. We were only human of course, and so we were easily susceptible to corruption.

"Some of our members soon began to disappear both on the job and off. We heard no trace of them and nobody could find them until about three years after the first disappearance happened. The third strongest member in our group named Nascour was found to have taken position as second in command in an evil hearted group of trainers known as Cipher in the Orre region. We found out about this occurrence after he and his group were arrested. We then began to send out some of our more trusted members as spies and found that most others had also become criminals as well. We had to cancel many of our contracts so those of us who remained could find these renegade members. Many were caught, but there are still a handful of members who are unaccounted for today. To this day I still worry about where young Wes might have gone….

"When people discovered what had happened we were ordered to disband. We agreed to do so since most of the problems we were contracted for had been solved anyway and our people caused more trouble than we could handle. However there were still others who appreciated us and wanted to make use of our services. They set up a hideout for us to continue our operations in secret, but we were too stretched and worn down to continue our work and mistrust among our members remained high. To the donors I said I declined their offer and would shut down our group for good, but I quietly requested that the new facility be built anyway. I took aside the three most trusted members of the team and told them we would continue our work in secret; separated from the outside world. From then on we were rarely called on to settle disputes and no one was the wiser. After keeping our eye on previous members we did call back one other person to join us that we knew we could trust, but the rest never found out. When we found someone powerful and of good character we considered bringing that person into our group as well, though situations were very rare that this would happen: twice a year at most, though usually no new members were added for years.

"We currently have a total member count of thirty, though this number is stretched across every region. Including those in this building we have ten people here in Kanto with no more than three people in other regions. We currently specialize in hunting important criminals and troublesome Pokémon that are causing problems and breaking the harmony within regions. Criminals are dropped off outside police stations and no one sees anything while Pokémon are captured to be trained and raised by worthy trainers. This is why our members are referred to as hunters and our organization is named The Pokémon Hunters.

"Now I can answer your questions about Akuma. When he was still very young he was orphaned like many other kids in Lavender whose parents usually die or abandon them. I still don't know what happened to his parents unfortunately. However I make it a point to provide as best I can for the children of this town and Akuma was no exception. We aren't a greedy people here. We've been putting as much as we can into the restoration of this town with just enough left to support our work. I looked out for Akuma as did the rest of our members as he grew up. Even though Akuma lived in a horrible town such as this he was always a positive and energetic boy. He made the other children happy all the time too. One day a Pokémon trainer passed through here and Akuma was fascinated by her and the Pokémon she carried. Even though she wasn't staying long he persuaded her to stay in town and teach him what it meant to be a trainer. She stayed for three days and taught him all she could as well as answering all of Akuma's endless questions. Both of them were sad when she had to leave, but Akuma was almost pushing her out of the city when she left. He wanted her to have as much fun as he wanted to someday and he made a promise to himself that he would become a trainer as soon as he could. Even though it would cause him a great deal of sadness, Akuma still wanted everyone else to enjoy life to the fullest. He's done more than his share of self-sacrifice over his life.

"Anyway, on his tenth birthday Akuma went into the Pokémon tower and captured his Gastly. He knew that after passing the acceptance test in Saffron he would receive the standard starter Pokémon, but he was also aware that in between the two cities there were some territorial Pokémon that could attack him and naturally he wanted defense for himself. I've yet to see a bigger smile on his face than that day. He came back after passing his test to say goodbye to everyone and set off for what we expected was the last time, but someone of his personality and character wasn't prepared for what the outside world really was.

"One day Akuma returned home very sad. He had been convinced that he had no talent and was going to quit being a trainer. He had returned to every place he had captured his Pokémon and released them all except for his Charmander and Gastly. After he had returned to his old self I took him to my house and offered to train him to become a better trainer. He was reluctant at first, but I knew he needed a confidence boost so I did my best to persuade him until he gave in. We had to relearn how be gentle with new trainers, but we adapted quickly enough. When he became twelve years old we had turned Akuma into a competent trainer and requested that he set off on another journey across Kanto with his Pokémon, but this time he would not collect badges. He would learn from his Pokémon just as they learned from him as there were lessons he could only learn on his own. Akuma agreed, and I lent him my Ditto to assist him where it could.

"Our training with Akuma seemed to work. At some point he snuck off to the Sinnoh region to learn more without our knowing, then came back to see us before he left for the Hoenn region. During his visit we found Akuma had become very strong on his own and his Pokémon were even stronger and healthier than some of ours were. At this time we began to consider recruiting him just based on his level of growth, but decided he was still too young. While Akuma traveled in Hoenn our operatives kept an eye on him from time to time and reported back to us. What we learned was very surprising. It seemed that when Akuma gave some of us a duel during his brief stay here he had been holding back. When he fought others in Hoenn he could make a clean sweep of their team while rarely using more than one of his own Pokémon. Strangely he never battled the gym leaders in any region despite how much he was excelling in ability and confidence.

"I forgot to mention also that when Akuma became a trainer he requested that I take care of the Pokémon he caught so he knew they would be safe. While he traveled throughout Hoenn he captured a large number of Pokémon and we received every one. We also watched them grow stronger when he asked us to send him some on occasion no matter how long they stayed with him. During his Sinnoh trip, Akuma caught a Beldum which he kept with him almost all the time. It soon became a recognized member of his team as even we in Kanto heard some rumors about a strong mysterious trainer in Hoenn who used a Beldum in every battle he fought. After it evolved the rumors changed to that of a trainer with a Metang. Needless to say we began to have second thoughts about excluding Akuma from our group simply because of his age.

"Without his knowing we began to put Akuma through some tests. We would tell him that we wanted a specific Pokémon for study purposes and asked if he could get one for us. He didn't ask us questions at the time since he was still happy and naïve at the time; not as cynical and untrusting as he currently is. There were other such small tasks we gave him and he accomplished them all in a timely fashion. Eventually we decided that it would be best to have him on our team as soon as he returned and we began preparations to do so. Unfortunately a crisis soon happened in Hoenn and we were once again contacted for our unique and exclusive services."

**Yes, we have one more chapter of background exposition. I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. Look on the bright side though! At least it isn't as trippy and confusing as the Kid Icarus: Upring plot! :D**


	33. Forced To Come of Age

**I was planning to upload this chapter weeks ago, but I have a good… but I have a reason for why I didn't. Pokémon Conquest is more addicting than Minecraft and Harvest Moon. And I stand by that as fact. Today we're going to get most of the rest of Akuma's past out in the open. Sing the exposition song if you know it.**

Mr. Fuji's story was long, but very informative. Kurishimi was very intrigued by his words and made a mental note to check the public history books as soon as she was able to see how the recently recorded history excluded the Pokémon Hunters. It was also kind of fun hearing about Akuma from someone who knew what to say about him and didn't mind taking the time to share. After Mr. Fuji paused for a drink of water he continued his story.

"While Akuma was in Hoenn there were two new criminal groups named Team Magma and Team Aqua. Each one wanted to change the layout of Hoenn and perhaps the world by expanding the land masses or raising the water level respectively. Our two members in Hoenn were tracking the movements of both teams so they could remove their leader from power. Unfortunately they never got a chance before each team put their plans into action. Team Magma awakened the legendary Pokémon Groudon who could expand the land and dry up water even as it moved while Team Aqua awakened the Pokémon Kyogre, the Pokémon who formed the oceans. While various religions sometimes believe otherwise, I believe these facts are true and apologize if any of this is uncomfortable for you to listen to. Regardless, all of Hoenn was on the brink of destruction while the trainers of that region, including as many people as we could send, tried to calm the beasts in battle. Naturally no one could stand up to these Pokémon and were defeated whenever they tried.

"Through various sources we discovered the dragon type Pokémon Rayquaza was responsible for calming Groudon and Kyogre during their last ancient clash so we set about finding where such a creature could be hiding. As luck would have it, Rayquaza was resting at sky pillar, an unspeakably high tower in the southeastern part of Hoenn which was located of the coast of Slateport City where Akuma currently was. We contacted him and asked him to head to the sky pillar to awaken Rayquaza who could stop the two titans' rampaging and send them back to their resting places. Seeing how he would have to travel over the ocean to get there he naturally declined, but when we provided a ship that could transport him to the tower while keeping him dry he accepted. It took Akuma two days to ascend the tower and we assumed him to be dead shortly after the first day had passed. We later learned that highly territorial and powerful Pokémon lived in the tower which impeded his progress otherwise he could have made it up there much faster. After inspecting the tower for ourselves it was surprising that he made it up there in only those two days.

"Upon reaching the tower's summit Akuma discovered Rayquaza who was indeed asleep. Akuma had to attack Rayquaza to wake it up and when it was awakened he thought his job was done as we had expected but if things were that simple we'd be out of a job. Rayquaza thought Akuma was a threat and attacked him. Though Akuma tried to explain his actions to the legendary creature it would not listen and continued to attack him. Whether Akuma realized that Rayquaza would not easily listen or if he simply lost his temper, I have no idea. In any case Akuma decided to fight Rayquaza until it was tired enough to listen to him. Personally I would have just run away and tried again, but Akuma wasn't the type to give up anymore. His journeys had made him very strong and capable, so he was able to handle himself without being in serious danger. It took him hours to bring down Rayquaza, but he still somehow managed to defeat the legendary Pokémon. After Rayquaza listened to his story it flew down from the tower to calm Groudon and Kyogre. Sadly the world thought Rayquaza had come down on its own and were thankful to it, but when Akuma finally emerged from the tower we made sure his efforts were recognized by those who would listen."

_So that must have been the story Akuma was telling me about back in Saffron City,_ Kurishimi remembered.

"When Akuma returned home we told him the truth about who we were and the history of the Pokémon Hunters. He was surprised to hear of all this and even more so when we asked him to join us. He was reluctant because he felt he wasn't old enough or sufficiently skilled, but after we explained our reasons in detail he gladly accepted. He was very happy and enthusiastic to realize how strong he had become on his own, but that was the last time I'd ever seen him smile.

"You see there was one person in Lavender Town that Akuma was especially close to. Since Akuma didn't have any parents to live with this person took care of him all the time. Shortly after we believe Akuma went to Sinnoh this person went missing from our town and we never heard word of him until a few weeks before Akuma got back. Though Akuma wanted to celebrate his astounding success with this person, it was impossible. In the time we couldn't find him this young man had undergone a drastic change more than we could have ever conceived. Please understand that Akuma must never know you are aware of this, but the person he once admired so much had become, and even now still is, the new leader of Team Rocket."

Kurishimi stood up so fast her chair fell over. "You can't be serious!" she yelled in disbelief.

Mr. Fuji nodded sadly. "Yes, I'm afraid so. Akuma's greatest role model had become a criminal overlord while he was in training. The shock it gave him was serious when we broke the news to him. We tried cheering him up and distracting him by saying he could begin his special training immediately, but it didn't work. He shut himself inside his house for days, leaving his poké balls outside the front door so we could take care of them. Three days later what was left of him came out and told us to begin training him as soon as possible in a voice more dead and emotionless than I have ever heard, and I've lived a very long time. Even then he didn't eat for two more days. From that moment on he was just as cruel and unemotional as he is now. We didn't think that such a change from one person could put him into shock bad enough to cause mental trauma, but it happened all the same. At that time he began to release a large number of his Pokémon back into the wild as well. He had allowed some to leave in the past for various reasons, but not as much as he was doing then. Team Rocket has always been Akuma's enemy since that day and it won't change until he brings that person in for arrest. I do not believe that the Akuma who shut himself inside his house that day is the same one out there right now. His personality didn't change on that day, it broke, it was shattered, it was erased, and it no longer exists now.

"To make sure his skills do not rust, Akuma frequently takes the most difficult missions we have available for him. Sometimes when he gets bored he takes on more than one at a time. Once he took three jobs that nearly conflicted with each other just to see if he could do it and still performed at his peak. As I said earlier, while training on his own Akuma grew in his talents very quickly and surpassed us all. Even now he continues to improve though it is in very small increments now. Among those within the Pokémon Hunters everywhere Akuma is a legend and to some he is believed to be a myth. The veterans of our group have tried to convince others that they have battled him from time to time, but the experience is usually dismissed as having been a mirage or the misplaced reality of a dream. On the rare occasion that he comes into town people begin to doubt it was him within a few days time after he has left the city. Only those who have seen his full battle capability truly believe in his existence, and even if one were to challenge him he likely won't use his full power unless he thinks you deserve it. Among those who know he exists there are many who have given him titles such as grandmaster, Lord Akuma, battle deity, and demon warrior. Some of the legends about him are that he was blessed by Arceus in person, that he is the spirit of the first Pokémon Hunter reincarnated, even going so far as to be the powerful psychic Pokémon that Giovanni cloned years ago in disguise."

"Mr. Fuji," Chad cut in, "you've told us a lot about Akuma and it's really overwhelming for us to take in all at once. I'd like some time to digest it all, but there's one thing I've been wondering about since the day I met him. I don't know if I'm allowed to speak about it in public, but if I can't ask about here I can't think of another way to know unless we get Akuma drunk and he starts talking without restraint. Since I'd rather not go to that as a last resort I should probably ask you instead. I've noticed that besides his normal team of six Pokémon Akuma also carries a seventh Pokémon inside a crimson colored poké ball. Can you explain this to me please? I seem to be the only person in our group who doesn't know anything about it."

Kurishimi quickly jumped in before Mr. Fuji could reply. "Sorry Chad, I didn't mean to keep it a secret from you. Akuma and I just don't like to talk about it is all. Don't take it personally."

"I believe I can shed some light on this, yes," Mr. Fuji confirmed. "Two years before he started traveling with Kurishimi there was another situation in Hoenn that required Akuma's expertise. Though not as dangerous as rampaging legendary Pokémon the widespread damage was very comparable. In the northwestern corner of Hoenn a viscous Pokémon appeared from out of nowhere and went on a rampage. It destroyed nearly half the surrounding areas in the region, including Fallarbor Town, before it was finally subdued. We sent two hunters plus Akuma to the crisis to bring down the Pokémon before the damage could spread. Akuma and one of the hunters was critically injured and had to retreat during their first attack while the third hunter died. After recovering they made a second attempt with three more hunters in which they succeeded in defeating and capturing the Pokémon.

"It was immediately taken to a Pokémon Center for treatment, but the moment it was free from the poké ball it destroyed the building and nearly escaped before Akuma could return it. He brought it back here to be examined in a controlled environment and still we could find nothing wrong with it whatsoever. We did everything we could for the Pokémon, but at this point we believe that it is simply an insane bloodthirsty creature. We haven't given up on looking for a way to pacify the Pokémon, but nobody who has seen it fight believes we can do anything for it at the moment. In any case, Akuma decided to keep it with him at all times in a unique poké ball that he can't confuse for any others. Though the poké ball has no special capture abilities it is still very rare and difficult to find which is why we chose to use that particular model. The only real difference between it and a regular poké ball is the design unfortunately. On the market people call it the cherish ball. Mostly it has been a sign of Pokémon trainers with great wealth, but just like a million dollar vase or painting it is only pretty to look at and nothing more. Although to be fair there is a beautiful flash of rainbow when the ball is opened, but the price isn't worth the appeal I say.

"There have been some occasions where a poké ball has gotten switched for someone else's during a transfer so a Pokémon may not arrive safely at its intended destination. There is a fraction of less than a one percent chance of this happening, but Akuma insisted we do not take the risk. If the poké ball was left here in the stronghold there is also a chance, however small, that someone may steal it or it could be misplaced. For obvious reasons this is unacceptable as well. Everyone agrees that the safest place for it to be is with Akuma. No one has been able to defeat him in years so there is minimal chance of the poké ball ending up in the wrong hands. He also keeps it to remind himself that he isn't all powerful and has his own limits just like every other trainer or something like that. I'm not completely sure myself to be honest with you."

"Okay, I have one last question now," Kurishimi said as she chewed her lip. "That person you mentioned who took care of Akuma when he was young, who was it?"

"That, young lady, I cannot tell you. That is very, very personal business to Akuma and only Akuma. He does not talk about that person ever anymore and neither do we. Last time someone pressed him for information on the leader of Team Rocket Akuma had Infernape knock them out with a mach punch that broke their nose. Keep in mind that person didn't know the two had a shared past and you must never let on that you know about their relationship either. Even though you are both close to him you would no doubt receive the same treatment just as swiftly. I only told this to you so you would be aware of why and who Akuma is today."

"I have a question too sir," Chad called. "Concerning that seventh Pokémon of Akuma's, what species is it?"

"Why would you want to know, young man?"

"Err, no specific reason. I'm just wondering about it is all."

"If that's all there is to it, don't worry about it. Hopefully you won't ever find out if you are lucky. Besides, if he hasn't told you himself there may be a reason he won't that I'm unaware of."

"I suppose you're right," Chad admitted, but he was still unconvinced. "Well here's one last question that shouldn't be too private I suppose. Exactly how many Pokémon did Akuma capture in total over the course of his life? I mean since before he came back the first time up till now.

"According to our records I believe that in Akuma's early years he acquired seven Pokémon not counting his Gastly and Charmander. I believe he only obtained five Pokémon in Sinnoh which was quite minimal considering his progress later in life. When he came back from Hoenn he had access to about forty different species. Also during his years working for us he released many of the Pokémon he captured since some of them were simply for brief study, pacification, or because of the various jobs we've had him do. Still, I'm pretty sure he's caught over four hundred individual Pokémon. Most of these were of the same species however so don't be impressed just yet. On the other hand when it comes to individual Pokémon species he's captured a grand total of two hundred twenty-five which even by Pokémon Hunter standards is an astonishing number which only adds to the legend that follows his name."

Kurishimi splashed herself in the face with the cup of water in front of her to recover from the shock while Chad slowly melted down in his chair as Mr. Fuji laughed at their reactions.

"Well I assume there are no more questions so when you feel sober enough from the shock to walk around might I give you a tour of the facility?"

Mr. Fuji's house was indeed very impressive. Not only was it beautifully decorated, but there was a large basement going under a portion of the city that even extended two floors below the first. Mr. Fuji explained that it was the safest place to train hunters and Pokémon as well as monitor their various hunters across the world. There were numerous training grounds where you could fight other people or even computer controlled programs for various skill levels in different conditions and environments too. Mr. Fuji added that the most difficult simulations were programmed under the direction of Akuma. Kurishimi and Chad were lucky enough to meet the second and third best hunters named Jason and Susie. Jason was mentioned to have been around since before the group went underground and had been the top hunter until Akuma joined. Chad almost challenged him to a battle out of anticipation and excitement, but managed to hold himself back. They paused to watch a few hunters battle the training programs allowing Kurishimi and Chad to learn some interesting attack combinations in the short time they had to watch.

During the last portion of the tour Mr. Fuji brought them to rooms where the most dangerous Pokémon were being kept. Most were practicing control over and improving new attacks, but there were a couple Pokémon who seemed to be having anger problems. From each occupied room there were loud sounds as each Pokémon used their most powerful attacks. As they moved down the hallway the Pokémon seemed to steadily become more and more dangerous until they reached the end where two rooms were absolutely silent. The lights beside the doors indicated there were Pokémon inside, but there were no noises from within. Kurishimi and Chad assumed the Pokémon may have been asleep, but Mr. Fuji confirmed that they were indeed awake.

"Would you like to guess what Pokémon are in these rooms?" he asked them in a knowing voice.

"I don't really have a clue, but I'm going to guess these are two of Akuma's Pokémon, right?" Chad guessed.

"You're right, lad. We haven't had many problems with this first Pokémon so you may come in to greet it if you want." Mr. Fuji entered a number code on the door lock and opened it so Chad and Kurishimi could go inside. Stepping inside the room they saw a blue metallic tank with four legs that looked up at them as they entered.

"It's Metagross!" Kurishimi said happily. She ran across the room and gave it a hug while Metagross roared in delight. Having been around Metagross for a long time when it was a Metang, as well as having many training sessions together, Kurishimi and Metagross were very familiar to each other.

Chad's only experiences with Metagross were less than pleasant, but he made an effort to be friendly. Metagross recognized Chad and became sad quickly when it saw him poke into the room.

"Naturally we had to tell Metagross why Akuma sent it here," Mr. Fuji explained. "It was very sorry about what happened to your Bulbasaur, Chad. As such it has been trying especially hard to control its power compared to the other Pokémon in this hallway. I assume Akuma hadn't used Metagross very often from after evolving to just before the battle with you so it wasn't used to the high boost in power just yet."

"So that's why your attacks seemed so crazy strong," Chad said quietly. "Well don't worry, I forgive you. I'm sure Akuma had been training you to try your hardest when you battle, right? You just weren't ready to fight inexperienced Pokémon after evolution yet after trying your hardest for so long." Despite not having a mouth Metagross seemed to smile at Chad happily. "If you want I have Bulbasaur here with me, even though it's an Ivysaur now. I don't know if it's alright with you, but would you want to see him?" Metagross considered Chad's offer, but shook its head negatively. "That's okay, maybe when you're ready then."

Kurishimi looked over Metagross to make sure it was being treated well then they left the room.

"So do either of you know who's behind door number two?" Mr. Fuji asked.

"I haven't seen Scyther for a long time, maybe that's who it is?" Chad guessed.

"I don't know for sure," Kurishimi admitted, "but I'm really hoping it's Big Red."

Mr. Fuji looked through the window on the door then began unlocking it. "This one's been a real hassle lately. If it's in a good mood you should be able to greet it, but be very careful. It's exhibited an extremely volatile temper lately."

The door opened slowly as Mr. Fuji kept an eye on it from behind the safety of the door. Kurishimi walked in first carefully and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness it's you," she said happily.

Chad stepped in the room and gasped. It was a new Pokémon to him, both for Akuma's roster and in general. Based on Kurishimi's description once he thought it would be the Magmar he kept hearing about, but this was certainly no Magmar. He knew it was a powerful Pokémon since its arms and legs were chained tightly to the walls. It was much larger than a Magmar and from within its body there was a deep steady rumble like a contained inferno. Its arms were shaped like cannons with three short claws poking out from inside. The Pokémon stared at Chad like a predator eyeing what could be its next meal. It was an understatement that Chad was nervous, in fact he was trying not to shake as the creature sized him up.

Kurishimi smiled and introduced the two. "Chad, meet what is probably Akuma's meanest and most powerful Pokémon. This is Big Red, Akuma's Magmortar; once his old Magmar. Magmortar, this is Chad, Akuma's new student"

Chad stared in awe at the dangerous Pokémon in front of him. He wanted to greet it properly, but all he could manage to get out was, "Wow."

Magmortar continued to glare at Chad, but gave an amused smirk when Chad's amazement was evident. Mr. Fuji nervously called the two back out shortly after.

"So why is that guy in there when it wasn't acting overly violent?" Chad asked Mr. Fuji after the old man had bolted the door shut.

"Well that's the thing about Magmortar; it doesn't attack unless it's sure the attack will be effective. When we try to train it in controlling its power Magmortar's attacks are always far too explosive to be safe. I don't think Magmortar is even trying to gain control anymore. It seems to prefer using overkill attacks every single time. We aren't making much progress at all I fear. Akuma was primarily coming back to try helping Magmortar in its training, but at this point I'm not very hopeful. Magmortar's attack power at this stage is almost as high as when Akuma is using his Pokémon at full power so if they can work together again completely I shudder to think of the potential they would have. For everyone's sake I'm hoping Akuma learned some good new tricks these past two months."

**And with that, we are finally done with the biggest dialogue exposition chapter(s) in this story. Don't worry, I'll put some more fighting bits in the next chapter…**


	34. Magmortar's Rebellion

Four days later Akuma walked into the outskirts of Lavender Town with the Cubone perched on his shoulder during midday. He was still a ways off from the first buildings, but he was already beginning to feel some familiarity. He could smell the unique air and aroma that came with a town as rotten as this, but where Chad and Kurishimi felt frightened and disturbed, Akuma felt at peace. In the outskirts there were what used to be houses that had now fallen in, but instead of junk piles Akuma saw potentially buried treasure. Walking into town there were buildings that seemed as if they would fall over from the slightest gust of wind, but of course Akuma saw differently here too. To him they were envious shelters for those who had none. The only similarity between what he and others saw in the town was the people who lived in it. Just like everyone else in the town, whether they were passing through or called it their home, the people were horribly in need of help. Today most of those he saw seemed to be even more wretched than before. Akuma brushed off the feeling thinking it was attributed to his long absence.

Instead of going directly for Mr. Fuji's house Akuma took a detour toward the other side of town. He didn't speak a word to Cubone as he walked despite his companion's uneasiness in the new territory. He simply kept his eyes straight ahead until he came to a long house that had fallen in on one side. Akuma kicked away some of the debris that had gathered near the front door then took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The conditions within the house were beyond terrible. Any part of the house that wasn't on the verge of collapse was either rotten or showed signs of growing mold. Various disgusting substances riddled the floor aside from a clean jagged path leading to one room which Akuma approached. The door opened surprisingly well for being so worn down and even more surprising was the interior of the room which seemed particularly well kept considering the condition of the entrance. The air was breathable in here since the mold was absent. Some of the collapsing wood had even been replaced in important spots. The only decorations in it were a bed, a chest in the corner, and various medals and personal trophies on a shelf.

Akuma sat down on the bed heavily causing the frame to moan as he did so. He rubbed his face with both hands after removing the Cubone from his shoulder, then fell back onto the bed with a smile as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Be it ever so crumbled, there is no place like home," he said to the empty room.

Akuma lay on the bed for a few minutes, then pulled himself up reluctantly and approached the decorated shelf. He touched each object on the shelf, naming some from a few places.

"Pokémon league symbol of recognition… battle frontier guts symbol… speed capture race award… endurance ribbon… Sinnoh league approval certificate …" His face dropped as he came to the last two decorations on display. He picked them up, rubbing off the thick layer of dust as he did so. One was a purple heart-shaped jewel and the other was a metallic symbol of fire. "Soul badge and volcano badge," he finished. "I never thought I'd be taking these with me again." He pinned the two symbols inside his vest before turning to look at the last object in the room, the large wooden chest in the corner. He walked over to it and stared hard as if trying to intimidate the inanimate object. His face twisted into a hurt frown while he clenched his teeth. He pointed a finger at it and spoke to it commandingly. "I'm still not going to open you until I bring him in for arrest. That chapter of my life is closed just like you are and you will stay closed until I decide to open you again. You will never hold any influence in my life again just like he never will. And nobody will do it again either! You stupid piece of…" Akuma kicked the box so hard he hurt his foot and had to sit down on the bed again. He took a few deep breaths before looking at the box again. He bit his finger as he glared at it, then picked up Cubone and walked out of the house quickly. "I need to stop doing that," he said to himself as he made his way toward the house of Mr. Fuji.

Over the course of those four days since Chad and Kurishimi had arrived at the stronghold of the Pokémon Hunters they didn't waste time enjoying the VIP treatment offered to them. Kurishimi was attempting the higher training levels for Pokémon battling while Chad spent his time reading through the various libraries and strategies available to non-members. Each of them had tried to battle the computer in scenarios Akuma had programmed, but their chosen opponents slaughtered them instantly. They wisely decided to move on after that.

Kurishimi had many opportunities to learn from other hunters as well as Fuji himself when they stopped to watch her practice matches. Most notably both trainers had discovered there were hunters who could teach their Pokémon new attacks that weren't among the standard line of available TMs and HMs. It was tough for their Pokémon to learn new skills and half the time the attacks didn't succeed, but they and their Pokémon were determined to take advantage of the opportunity to the fullest. She could tell her battle technique and strategies were improving from the addition of these special moves, as did her Pokémon, but because Chad spent most of his time doing research she couldn't guess at how well he was progressing. Sometimes Chad would run down the halls to the battlegrounds, but she was always too busy to observe. She did ask him a few times what he'd been doing, but Chad only replied that he'd been trying to come up with a battle style perfect for him. He was also frequently making trips to the Pokémon exchange computers so his story was not completely unreasonable. It seemed Chad had some hidden potential that the abundance of knowledge was providing to him. At least that was what Kurishimi assumed was going on. She made a mental note to have another practice battle with him sometime soon. It was hard enough having one of her teammates keeping secrets from her. Another would make her the black sheep of the group.

While relaxing in her room she heard hurried footsteps outside her door. Giving in to her curiosity she left the room and came downstairs to find Akuma at the front door conversing with Mr. Fuji. The footsteps from earlier were those of the other hunters coming to see their living legend. Kurishimi figured he'd rather speak to Fuji than to her about his trip so she melted into the background. After she had gotten clear from the herd she went downstairs to see what Chad was doing. Unsurprisingly she found him in the library once more. This time he was taking notes on different Pokémon type combinations.

"What are you working on?" she asked while taking a seat.

"One of the programs I just fought had Pokémon with dual type combinations that were unique to their species. I'm trying to find the best way to fight them. There's a Pokémon in the simulator called Sneasel which is a dark and ice type Pokémon. I thought that I could use a simulated fighting type Pokémon to beat it, but it didn't work."

"What happened? I would think that even an uncommon fighting type could beat it easily."

"That's what I thought too, but when I tried fighting with a Machoke the Sneasel moved too fast for me to get a hit in. Since Machoke was too slow I tried a Primeape since it's a very fight fighter, but I still had trouble. I won since we were better matched that time, but I think we could have done much better. Some of my other fights went the same way so I'm trying to find out what weaknesses those Pokémon have as well as what their strengths are so I can plan better for next time."

"Find anything interesting yet?"

"A whole lotta nada. I only started looking five minutes ago anyway. What have you been up to by the way?"

"Just training with my lesser used Pokémon today. Since most of them haven't been getting battle exercise lately I've been taking advantage of the training facilities here as long as we're in town."

"Which ones were you working with today?"

"Miltank, Grimer, and Magnemite so far. I'm hoping to get some time for Chansey and Vaporeon too, but I don't know if we'll have time for that."

"Did something come up?"

"Could be. Akuma's talking with Mr. Fuji at the front door right now. I left them alone for the time being."

Chad looked up from the books at the mention of Akuma's name. "I was wondering when he'd finally get here. When do you suppose he'll come looking for us?"

"I don't have a clue. If we're lucky he'll come by quickly so we know there's no problem. We know he didn't want to come here so I would think he'd be just as anxious to leave. If we stay in town for a while he'll be up to something new and one of the three of us will be in the hospital again based on our recent run of luck, and considering both of you have had your turn I think I'm due for a visit next."

"But Akuma did tell us he had business here didn't he? I expect we'll be in town for at least a day while he takes care of stuff and works on his training sessions with Magmortar. What do you think the chances are he'll find out what Mr. Fuji told us?"

"Pretty good I think. Mr. Fuji's probably letting him know most of what he told us by now. Assuming we do leave town today where would you want to go? Do you have plans to travel with Akuma for training or would you start making stops at different gyms to earn your badges now?"

"To be honest I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. I've been thinking I might stay here to learn as much as I can, but of course I can only learn so much from a computer. I was also thinking about going to a different region to train like Akuma did a long time ago too, but that won't work for two reasons. First, Akuma will probably stay in this region until he captures the Team Rocket leader, and second, Akuma made those journeys on his own."

"I guess that's true, but he didn't even want to come here. I don't know how long he really intends to stay after all it seems."

"On a different topic, I've heard you've been spending a lot of time in the simulators, Kurishimi. Have you managed to find a weak point in some of the programs that Akuma created yet?"

Kurishimi laughed. "No Chad, not at all. I tried a different simulation yesterday, but got the same result. It would be easier if the computer would talk to me like human trainers do so I could figure out how each one is programmed to work. Still, it would be a little ridiculous to talk to a computer…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered something.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Oh, uh, yeah I'm fine. I just had a new idea. I'm gonna go back to the simulators for a while. I'll see you later, Chad."

"How has the training been recently?" Akuma asked Mr. Fuji while the two of them walked down the hall toward Magmortar's cell.

"Your Metagross has been making excellent progress. I believe the recent evolutionary boost it received raised its power more than the two of you were expecting so it only seemed as if you two lost control of its power. Metagross will be able to rejoin your group after one more day of testing if we put other Pokémon development on hold."

"Stick with the basic plans. It doesn't need any special treatment. And what of Magmortar's training?"

"No progress at all. I believe it is intentionally fighting with increased aggression, though I can't understand why at the moment. I called you over since I thought you would be able to figure out Big Red's problems faster than we could."

"Have you tried shock therapy?"

"We wanted to save the more extreme conditioning procedures as a final resort."

"Let me in then, and close the door behind me. Make sure to lock it tight too."

"What if Magmortar attacks? It has been increasingly violent as well."

"If he wants to fight me I'll make him submit however I can. I'm also going to undo his chains, so be aware of that if he gets out of hand."

"For the record I highly discourage that plan."

"Noted; now open the door." Akuma pulled a poké ball from his straps and hid it in his hand before walking in.

Magmortar was already looking up when Akuma walked through the door, but gave no sign of recognition or acknowledgement. When the door shut Akuma walked closer to Magmortar until they were eye to eye. The two glared at each other for a few seconds before Akuma began removing the chains from Magmortar's arms followed by those around the legs.

"From what I hear, you've been a real problem around here lately," Akuma told his Pokémon as the last of the chains fell off. "We both know that won't accomplish anything, so why do you bother?"

Magmortar answered with silence.

"Thirteen Pokémon and hunters wounded, two in critical condition, one person nearly died, and what did that all get you? From what I can tell you haven't earned anything more than a less comfortable room with zero mobility and even that was taken by choice. I know that you know how to break out of here, but you haven't. So with all the chances you've had to earn your freedom why are you choosing to be treated like a fugitive? You're better than that. You're the toughest Pokémon I have on my team other than Shiner, and even that's not guaranteed. Just what are you accomplishing by rejecting the conditioning training?"

Magmortar huffed in annoyance, but still didn't move.

"You missed a lot by being in here I'll have you know. Here's a little taste of what I've been up to over the past month: Sabrina, one of the most powerful gym leaders in the Kanto region, lost to me and submitted the marsh badge." Magmortar perked up as Akuma continued. "Lt. Surge, whose Electabuzz you've had a rivalry with, was also defeated less than a week ago as well. He also has relinquished his gym badge to me. While on a capture mission I encountered a Pokémon which I later came to learn was the legendary Pokémon Raikou. My team of six was wiped out and I was in the hospital for critical wounds. That could have been your chance to be evenly matched against a powerful opponent despite the heavy rain that followed it. Whatever your reasons for staying here, I doubt you want to anymore. Now either you start cooperating in your training here, or I'm never going to take you back. Not even for Shinji."

Akuma turned his back to his Pokémon and walked toward the door, but a fireball expectedly crashed into the wall next to the door, scattering flames across the ground so Akuma couldn't leave. He looked back to see Magmortar's arm cannon pointed at him with smoke trailing out of it where the claws once were. Magmortar wore a look of challenge upon its face.

Akuma turned so he was facing Magmortar directly as he held his poké ball in a battle stance. "Do you seriously think that your evolutionary form is enough to beat my Pokémon? Even as a Magmar I could fight you with my own fists and win."

Magmortar growled a threat as it braced for another lava plume attack, but Akuma quickly threw his poké ball before the attack could be released. Charizard quickly emerged, grabbing Magmortar's arm and pushed it to face the other wall before the attack could be fired. Not willing to stop the attacks Magmortar raised its other arm to punch Charizard in the chest. When the blow connected, electricity was released which doubled the damage Charizard received. Despite the brutal and efficient attacks the two Pokémon were giving there was no pause from either of them as the fight turned into a close range firefight. Charizard blasted Magmortar in the face with a flamethrower while Magmortar fired a barrage of embers from its cannon. Charizard raised Magmortar over its head and tossed it behind with a seismic toss, but Magmortar was prepared and shot a lava plume into Charizard's back before hitting the ground. Charizard quickly spun around, hitting Magmortar with its tail and delivered two slash attacks from each talon before Magmortar had recovered enough to use another thunderpunch. From its free arm Magmortar released a smokescreen around itself so Charizard couldn't aim properly, but Charizard used its wings to clear the smoke right before Magmortar fired a hyper beam at point blank range into Charizard's neck. The blast threw Charizard hard into the wall, but Magmortar had to rest before it could strike again. When Charizard got up it flew toward Magmortar, firing a concentrated flamethrower the whole way. At close range Magmortar slammed each fist into the side of Charizard's head which caused Charizard to drop unconscious. Akuma realized it was a frustration attack which had variable power based on how much the Pokémon disliked its trainer. He had taught it to Magmortar before it evolved since they weren't very close and based on the damage Charizard had taken it seemed to be even more powerful than he remembered.

But Akuma would have to consider the attack later as Magmortar turned toward him, readying another lava plume. There was no time for Akuma to think about which poké ball he grabbed since the attack was about to fire. He dodged from the blast as he grabbed one of the spheres, and then threw it behind Magmortar as fast as he could manage. Magmortar turned to see Gastly use a confuse ray on it just before the room began to spin. With Magmortar's attacks now randomized as well as the accuracy, Akuma was in equal amounts of danger as the Pokémon he fought with. Big Red fired a flamethrower in a sweeping arc across the room that Gastly barely avoided. Gastly retaliated with a lick across Magmortar's back, but suffered a burn from Magmortar's flame body ability. Magmortar turned around and got a lucky hit on Gastly with a thunderpunch, but before Gastly was knocked out it put a curse on Magmortar that quickly began to drain its energy.

Now that he had a moment to choose his Pokémon Akuma took advantage of Magmortar's confused state to send out his inexperienced Cleffa. "Cleffa, use a metronome, quickly!" Cleffa wiggled its fingers back and forth as Magmortar fired a lava plume blast at the door which caused it to begin melting away. Cleffa's metronome fired a massive blast of water at Magmortar, knocking it down. Due to Cleffa's exhaustion Akuma assumed it was a hydro cannon attack that the metronome produced. Since Magmortar's confusion was sure to wear off soon, Akuma substituted Cleffa for Infernape.

Infernape immediately took charge when it saw Magmortar's fury. It closed the distance and grabbed Magmortar; leaping into the air and throwing it to the ground with a seismic toss nearly as powerful as Charizard had used. Infernape then landed with a mega kick just below Magmortar's neck and finished the combination with a mach punch to Magmortar's forehead. Despite all the severe damage Magmortar had continued to receive it still refused to faint and had even recovered from the confusion due to Infernape's final punch. Without Infernape noticing, Magmortar raised its arm cannon and shot a fire blast into Infernape's face. The explosion of flames was so large that Akuma couldn't avoid the fires and had to throw off his vest to put out the flames he'd picked up. Seeing that Akuma had been nearly hurt by the flames, Infernape's attacks became more vicious. It began clawing rapidly at Magmortar with its fury swipes attack until Magmortar threw it off. Infernape caught itself before hitting the ground by landing on its hand and pushing itself back toward Big Red. Infernape landed another mach punch before beginning its close combat attacks. Magmortar was driven back a few paces, but Akuma could see that Infernape wouldn't last much longer. In desperation Akuma told Infernape to fire a flamethrower of extreme heat at the side wall equal to the power shown to Brianna. Infernape did its best to avoid Magmortar's offense while it prepared for the attack. Though it got hit a number of times Infernape was able to charge enough power for a massive flamethrower that turned the wall red for a brief moment, which then became a blinding white as the heat grew even more intense.

When Magmortar fired a hyper beam Akuma recalled Infernape before the blast struck and released Totodile. While Magmortar took time to recharge energy Akuma instructed Totodile to use a water gun on the flaming wall. Totodile spit globs of water at the wall which caused the wall to hiss and spit steam. Soon the wall began to show cracks in the structure as the temperature quickly changed, much like how Kurishimi had destroyed Omastar's shell in the Cerulean gym. Before the wall could finish cooling Magmortar had recovered and was rushing toward Totodile intending to deliver a thunderpunch which was a guaranteed finish for the young one. Expecting Magmortar's movements, Akuma recovered Totodile then ran over and punched Magmortar to the ground. Instead of stopping, Akuma leapt over Magmortar's back to the breaking wall and called through the cracks while he kept an eye on Magmortar.

"I need your help over here. Break yourself free and smash this wall down as soon as you can!"

He then dove to the side as another lava plume hit one of the smaller cracks where he had been standing. Akuma dodged some flying embers from Magmortar's sweeping tail as he closed the distance until he could kick Magmortar in the side. Magmortar grabbed his leg intending to hold him down, but Akuma pulled back until his shoe came off, leaving Magmortar's fire punch hitting only the air. He stood against the wall, balancing just in time to grab his shoe when Magmortar threw it at him. He couldn't put his foot on the metal floor without the skin on his foot burning off due to the constant flames being thrown around the room from earlier, but he didn't have to worry about time. The cracked wall suddenly exploded inside, pelting Magmortar with sharp metal splinters as Metagross broke into the room.

**Hmm, yeah, the chapter got kind of long so I decided to cut it off here. Not exactly wanting to do it, but it seems to be pretty long at this point.**


	35. Welcome Home, Akuma

Now Akuma's two most powerful Pokémon faced off inside a boiling hot room with him trapped in the small battlefield as well. Both of Magmortar's arms were facing downward leaving it open to attack while Metagross could toss Magmortar into the air with a simple flex of its psychic power. Neither Pokémon moved while Akuma put his shoe back on.

"Metagross, Magmortar is completely out of control. He wants a battle, not a staring contest. Beat him down quickly or you'll lose."

Having been given a direct command from its trainer, Metagross tossed Magmortar into the air, brutally smashing him into the ceiling. Before Magmortar could fight back, Metagross sped toward it with a precision bullet punch followed by a double hammer arm attack from two of its other legs by spinning, then finished with a meteor mash that blasted Magmortar through the ceiling and to the upper floor. Akuma briefly used his exhausted Charizard to follow them.

The battling duo now found themselves in the trainer battlegrounds where two hunters were already engaged in battle. They began to attack, but stopped when they got a good look at the two battling Pokémon and ran to the sides when they saw Akuma and his wounded Charizard emerge from the hole.

Magmortar had recovered in the air and was sweeping a flamethrower from side to side in Metagross's direction. Metagross defended itself by psychically redirecting the flames toward its attacker with confusion. Magmortar pulled the flames back into its arm cannon then fired a high power lava plume back at Metagross who used a zen headbutt to break the fire attack. While Metagross was occupied, Magmortar fired a double flamethrower from each arm cannon. Unable to evade, Metagross used a meteor mash to break the ground underneath it and drop into the cell it was originally contained in. Magmortar couldn't see past the wall of flames to know Metagross had escaped, but after the flames subsided Metagross rose up from the first hole to use a strong hammer arm that struck Magmortar hard enough to spin it around. Before Magmortar could orient itself Metagross hit it with an extremely powerful move that Akuma hadn't known it to have. Metagross tucked its legs into its body so it was levitating in the air, then spun rapidly toward Magmortar at an intense speed. As it closed the distance a wave of energy formed in front of it which continued to grow until Metagross collided with Magmortar. The impact blasted Magmortar across the room and into the wall so hard an outline of Magmortar was left after it collapsed to the floor. Metagross fell to the ground exhausted while Magmortar tried to recover as well. Both Pokémon were gasping for air and trying to gather enough energy for one more attack, but the power of Metagross's giga impact was too much for either of them to endure and they both collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Akuma had managed to crawl to a wall on the side where he was trying to cool down after being in the suffocating heat. After both of his Pokémon fell he closed his eyes and lay down in a faint as Mr. Fuji, Kurishimi, Chad, and a slew of hunters entered the room.

"I told you so," Kurishimi said to Chad as they entered a room where Akuma sat in a medical bed. "Every time one of us gets separated from the others they end up getting hospitalized. Akuma's lucky he only got heatstroke, but this is turning into a real trend. This time not only did he suffer physically, but his Pokémon totaled a section of the base we were staying at. Next time I bet the whole building is going to fall down on our heads!"

Chad raised his hand. "I move for the motion of not taking any more risks which could potentially land one or more of us in the hospital."

"I second the motion," Kurishimi said after raising her hand as well. "Majority rules that you don't take any more risks, Akuma. You're not allowed to put yourself in unnecessary danger whenever you get the chance now, got it?"

"Stuff your reasons, I finished the job," Akuma snapped at the two. "The battle and talk I had with Big Red convinced him to take his training more seriously so he can rejoin our group soon. Within a few days he'll be just as passive as my other Pokémon."

"Like that's real encouraging," Chad said under his breath.

"Look, I took care of the most important business I came here to do and that's what matters most. I'll be out of this bed within a couple hours too so there's no reason to worry about my health for once. Now did the two of you come here just to mock me or did you have some something in mind?"

"We were wondering how long we were going to stay in town actually," Chad told him. "At first we were thinking we might stay for a few days and then we thought we'd leave town shortly after you arrived. But now you just mentioned that your biggest reason for coming here was all taken care of so we could even leave by tonight. We were wondering what kind of schedule we should plan for."

"It's true that my most important business is finished, but there are still things I need to do while I'm in town. First I need to get a Pokémon specialist for Totodile concerning health reasons, and then I'll make my rounds of the streets like I always do when I come to town. After that I want to speak with some hunters about putting the two of you through a couple tests for development purposes which will naturally be accompanied by my overseeing those tests. Finally I want to check on some new acquisitions to our ranks that we are still unsure of for obvious safety purposes and later go out to the north of town to catch a certain Pokémon that lives near the abandoned power plant. We won't be leaving today and probably not tonight either.

"Chad, I've heard that you've been spending a lot of time in the libraries doing research to create your own strategies. This is a good thing, but you should start practicing with your most powerful Pokémon before the test I mentioned. Come up with a strong set of six that complements each other and prepare for everything you can't think of. Akashi, you're good enough that any further tips I can give you would make the tests invalid. Just prepare a wide variety of Pokémon and don't expect anything predictable. And when you two leave the room, send in Fuji or someone who's healthy. I've got a lot to get done before we leave town."

After Chad and Kurishimi left the room Mr. Fuji entered. Akuma told him what Brianna had said about Totodile's water gun difficulties and asked him to send for a specialist that could treat the problem. Fuji had a couple people in mind who he believed could help with the problem, and promised to send for them immediately. Akuma also briefly discussed his plans for putting Chad and Kurishimi through certain training tests. Fuji was unsure at first about Akuma's request, but agreed to follow his plans by finding some hunters who could assist him. When they were done Akuma gave Totodile's poké ball to Mr. Fuji.

That evening Akuma had recovered enough to leave the building and walk around town. Once again as he passed through the streets he found eyes looking out at him from missing windows and dark alleys. He made eye contact with some which vanished into the darkness when they realized he had seen them. Akuma walked on until he came to the center of town where a statue of an Arcanine was erected. He sat down on an old stone slab in front of the statue which was meant to be a bench after brushing off leaves and other natural clutter that had gathered on it. With his back to the statue and sunset Akuma reclined against the rough stone structure while keeping an eye on the road in front of him. There were no movements in the plaza or on the roads at the moment, but Akuma was expecting someone tonight. While he waited he opened Cleffa's poké ball so the little creature could wait with him. Knowing his Pokémon would quickly become bored he gave it a magost berry to eat which was his Cleffa's favorite snack.

As the sun began to vanish behind the buildings some movement could be seen down the street Akuma was watching. He smiled from the corner of his mouth, but didn't stand as more figures began to emerge and walk down the street toward him. When they came into the plaza Akuma could clearly see that they were all children as he'd been expecting. He stood to his feet and walked over to the group with his Cleffa following beside him as a total of seven kids approached him. He stood in front of the group which had formed a pyramidal shape with a young boy in the front who didn't seem much younger than Chad.

"You're late," the boy said to him. "Fuji said you were bringing back his Cubone four days ago."

"Cubone didn't like to fly so we walked here," Akuma replied. "I didn't know I was expected until I got back either." Unlike when he was talking with other people he spoke with a gentle and patient voice without any hint of underlying aggression.

"Marie saw you come into town this afternoon so we knew you'd be here tonight."

"Yes, I know. I saw her outside my old home when I left. Thanks for taking care of my room for me too."

"Are you gonna pay us like you promised?"

"Don't worry; the four of you be compensated for doing a good job soon."

"You said we would be paid when you got back."

"Yes, but I haven't had time or convenience to get all of the aforementioned payment just yet. I do have a small bit for three of you, but I would think you all wanted it at the same time. I'm going to try to pick up the last one in a day or two."

The boy held out his hand. "We'd like the three now please."

"Alright, catch." Akuma reached into his vest and tossed the lead boy and the two girls behind him a poké ball each. The weight indicated there was a Pokémon inside each of them. "Yours has a Paras from Mt. Moon, Ethan. Krissy, your Pokémon is a Meowth that came from the northern grasslands of Saffron City. Marie, I know how much you like a challenge so I bought you a Psyduck while I was in Vermillion City."

After the children had been given the Pokémon they rushed Akuma and all gave him a hug. Unexpectedly Akuma knelt down and smiled as they did so.

"Welcome home, Akuma," they all said to him.

"So Jeffrey is a trainer too now? I figured he would have left when he was old enough," Akuma said to himself while he and the kids sat around the statue. Cleffa was perched on his head eating another magost berry. "Maybe he'll be Mr. Fuji's new bodyguard in a few years too."

"No way, Akuma. We all know Miko and Jason like their jobs too much for that," One of the boys sitting on the ground said.

"Plus he wants to open a gym here in Lavender Town someday too," Ethan added. "He thinks the publicity might help make our town better. Most of us in the Survivors want to train under him in the gym too."

"What kind of gym would he make?" Akuma asked.

"Probably a ghost type gym, but I think that's been done before," Ethan said. "We want him to make the first dark type gym in Kanto."

"Now that would make a name for our group: the Dark Survivors," Akuma thought out loud. "That might give the gym a bad name I think."

"Eww, I don't like that name!" one of the girls said. "I want the town to be a happy place!"

"What kind of Pokémon will you train, Kimberly?" Akuma asked.

"Water type Pokémon! They look real pretty and water Pokémon trainers look pretty too."

"She's a big fan of Misty in Cerulean," Marie explained. "Even though we want Jeffrey to create a new and unique gym we all like training different kinds of Pokémon."

"Why not join different gyms then?"

"Because we all want to stay together of course."

"You'd better come up with a Pokémon type you all like then or the gym will probably never open."

"We know, but we can still try," Ethan stated. "So have you caught any more Pokémon since we last saw you?"

"I've got a few you haven't seen, but one of them might scare you," Akuma warned.

"Oh show us anyway!" said a boy named Luke. "I always want to see the toughest Pokémon."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Akuma told them as he released Houndoom from its poké ball. All the kids let out a yelp, including Luke, when they saw the devilish appearance of the dark Pokémon which led to a brief moment of teasing the former tough kid. "Houndoom was the leader of a Houndour pack outside Saffron City when I caught it. We aren't completely in synch when we battle yet, but it's tougher than my Totodile."

"You caught a water Pokémon finally?" Kimberly exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"Yes, but Totodile can't battle yet so I left it at Mr. Fuji's place for treatment. Sorry, Kim."

Akuma then proceeded to introduce his Misdreavus and Sableye to the kids. Sableye was expected to be a creepy Pokémon, but its jester personality soon made it a favorite. While Akuma was with the seven kids however, someone across the street was watching him.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," Chad said to himself as he watched Akuma and the other kids interact. "I don't get it. Why is he so happy around them and so cruel to everybody else, including me and Kurishimi?"

"Because he grew up with them," said a voice from behind. Chad turned around in surprise to see a boy his age looking at the group as well. "Akuma grew up with all those kids. He was the leader of the Lavender Town kids gang called the Survivors; named that way because they survived for as long as they did in this city."

"Great, and who the heck are you?" Chad asked the boy in suspicion.

"I used to be one of them. Now I'm not and they don't know it so I just watch them from a distance without their knowing."

"That's… pretty creepy, ya know?"

"I can't make it on my own outside of town so I just stay hidden instead."

"Why not go over and talk to everybody then?"

"Because they don't know I'm here. My name is Jeffrey, and they think I'm on a Pokémon journey. I was going to learn how to be good enough to open my own gym here, but I failed."

"Everybody fails so keep trying until you don't anymore. Talk to Akuma about it if you want some help."

"I can't. Akuma never failed before so he wouldn't understand."

Chad laughed at the other boy's words. "Boy do you have it wrong. Akuma's had a lot of failures in his life. That's how he became so strong in the first place. One thing I learned from him is that while your Pokémon become stronger by winning battles, we become stronger by losing battles. I haven't been with Akuma for a full month yet and I've seen him get stuck a few times already, but he didn't give up, he kept trying until he won. From what I hear he also came back to Lavender Town early on because he thought he couldn't cut it as a trainer either. Just go talk to him when you get a chance, alright? You might even become good enough to match him someday since you're in the same position he was."

"But why would someone like Akuma want to help me? I'm nothing special."

"And neither was Akuma when he was your age, I'm sure. What have you got to lose anyway?"

"Self respect for one thing."

"No offense Jeffrey, but you already seem to be lacking in that. You'll gain self confidence if you ask for help too. Just try it, okay?"

Jeffrey looked down at his toes while Chad resumed watching Akuma and the other kids. Even if Akuma had grown up with all those children it didn't seem fair to only allow them to experience his kinder side. Outside of this town he was a mentor to at least two people and an example to many others. Most importantly he was a figurehead to the adults living in this town as well, so how was it that only these few children got special treatment from someone who was possibly the most powerful trainer in the world? To be honest with himself, Chad was pretty jealous of the street urchins. They couldn't afford a single oran berry and right now they had what seemed to be the hardest and most valuable thing in the world to obtain.

"I'm done here," Chad said to the air. "I'm going to get some rest."

"Before you go, I have a question for you," Jeffrey quickly said. "If Akuma came home like me, how did he get better?"

"Simple," Chad answered the boy. "He went through the most intense training programs available to someone of his age and background. Something else I learned from Akuma is that for us to get better we have to train until we've reached our limits, and then push ourselves beyond that limit to a new high point. If you can, find a mentor or even a rival I'd say. The right people can have a definite and positive impact on your training. I found both of those figures in Akuma. Anyway, good luck to you. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

With that, Chad began walking back toward Mr. Fuji's place. Jeffrey continued to watch the others who seemed to be starting to go their separate ways. The last one to leave was Akuma whose route home brought him down the same road Jeffrey was watching from. After Akuma had started down the road, Jeffrey began walking out to meet him.

"A teacher and a rival, huh?" Jeffrey said to himself as Chad's words came back to him. "Well I suppose I've found at least one of them tonight, if not both."

**This one was a bugger to piece together and I took some risks with Akuma's character near the end. I wanted to start cracking his shell by this point so I gave him someone special to come home to. I'm not sure if I rushed this part of his story though. I'd really like some feedback on this one, even if someone reads it after the story is all finished.**


	36. Kurishimi's Test

The next day Akuma spoke to his traveling companions about the training they would go through that day. They were instructed to assemble a team of their most trusted and powerful Pokémon available to them as this was planned to be a very difficult test for the two of them with no second chances. They were given a full hour to plan for their matches which they initially thought to be more than was needed. After selecting their Pokémon they planned to wait outside the testing doors, but the silence gave them time to reconsider what Pokémon they should really be using. They each went back to the Pokémon exchange computers where they thought long and hard over what Pokémon they should bring to this unknown test.

When Chad was finished he left for the testing room again, but Kurishimi seemed to have something else on her mind. There had been something bothering her about the computer simulations since she first ran Akuma's programs, but she couldn't figure out what it was. The Pokémon Hunter base had the latest technology and the most powerful security anywhere around so it was impossible for her to get to a computer and explore what may turn out to be confidential files. It didn't help that she wasn't a computer expert either. Still, the only answer to what had been bothering her was located inside the computer network. There were only 15 more minutes before the test began, but she had a phone call to make first.

When Kurishimi arrived, Akuma gave the two their instructions. "These will be tests of how well you two can operate under pressure among other things. The tests will be ongoing until you complete them at which time the simulation will be shut down by those monitoring them and you will be escorted out into the hall. While these are computer generated simulations do not think that your Pokémon will not be harmed during the tests. As I am sure the two of you have witnessed, the computer training programs may harm your Pokémon as well as you, so be careful. There are safety protocols active within the programming so death is avoidable. That doesn't mean you can expect to come out alive if you do something stupid of course, so watch it. While the computer will be your opponent for the majority of the simulation you are in, we may decide to add hunters in the room who will add to the complexity of the tests. There is no set goal during these simulations so there isn't any real way to conquer them either. I've tried to best similar challenges a number of times and I still miss something every time I run them. That said, don't stop trying or take too much time to think things over. I'll be watching you both from an observation window that is visible from inside the rooms, so don't be weirded out by a glass window in the sky when you see it. Finally I have an important piece of advice for both of you: always overestimate your opponent. I know you've heard this phrase a lot over the past few years Akashi, but keep it in mind this time. Chad, don't stop trying. Trust your Pokémon for all they're worth. You will both be taken to separate rooms, but the programs will apply the same for each of you. Chad, your room is right here. Akashi, come with me."

Jason brought Chad into his training room while Akuma took Kurishimi to a separate door. He opened it so she could step inside to the large white room she was familiar with. There seemed to be no walls, ceiling, or floor since shadows and apparent light sources were absent. Every time Kurishimi walked into the room she experienced a feeling of vertigo.

Before Akuma closed the door he leaned closer to Kurishimi and whispered two words which she couldn't interpret his tone or meaning from. "Don't fail." And with those words and the sound of a closing door, she was alone.

The room grew dark as the simulation prepared to activate. When it turned on she would believe herself to be in a completely different place with no hint as to where she really was. Kurishimi closed her eyes so the reality warp wouldn't throw off her senses more than they already were. When she felt the area around her change, she knew it was time to open her eyes again, but after doing so she wanted to close them again.

She was in what might have been grassland at some point, but the grasses were either dried out or burnt to charcoal from what she could tell. Some blackened trees dotted the landscape here and there, and instead of leaves their branches were decorated with fire. The air was thick with ashes from the flames as well. Half a mile away she could see a group of people battling their Pokémon against what appeared to be a large jagged hill. With no one else in sight through the ashes, Kurishimi assumed that was where she was supposed to go. Before she started to run she pulled out a poké ball from her pocket which she dropped behind her. It didn't open, but she was expecting it not to do so just yet anyway. Afterwards she closed the distance as fast as she could until she realized it wasn't a mountain the others were fighting, but a huge red bipedal Pokémon with black markings. It appeared to be an armored reptile with spikes jutting out from its armor. She couldn't guess at how large it was since there was nothing but an assortment of much smaller Pokémon to compare it to.

The huge creature roared as it fired a solar beam attack across the front line of the defending Pokémon group. Most were able to avoid the blast only to meet the attacker's claws which cut down those who happened to be in range. The defenders continued to fall back even while they attacked as the behemoth advanced toward them. Kurishimi joined the group as quickly as she could and found who appeared to be the man in charge.

"What's going on here?" she asked while she instructed Vulpix to assist the other Pokémon.

"You made it out here and didn't know what was going on?" the man half asked in disbelief. Kurishimi took note of his Hoenn accent as he spoke.

"I was traveling nearby and noticed a disturbance so I came over to investigate. What can you tell me so I can help you?"

"Nothing that isn't common knowledge, but I can still- Look out!" He pulled her to the side as a fire blast rushed past where they had just been standing. Kurishimi saw the dirt grow a discolored brown as it passed them by. "We've been sent to slow down the process of Groudon, the legendary Pokémon that formed the landmasses. It's been rough going so far, especially after we lost our commanding gym leaders. Fortunately no one's been killed yet, but Groudon's progress is too much for us to endure anymore. If it gets to the shoreline where the other gym leaders are supposedly holding Kyogre at bay the climate damage will be irreversible. We had assumed to hold Groudon back by using water and grass type Pokémon since Groudon itself is a pure ground type, but this intense heat is lowering our Pokémon's water attacks while giving Groudon an immediate charge for its solar beam. Some of our grass Pokémon are benefiting from the harsh sunlight as well, but Groudon surprised us by using fire attacks too! Its attacks are much too diverse for us to put up with."

"Has it used any ground attacks that you've noticed yet?" Kurishimi asked as another solar beam ripped a gash into the ground.

"It did use an earthquake attack earlier when Flannery tried to counter with her fire types, but they haven't been needed after all the fire Pokémon disappeared. Your Vulpix might make a need for them again though if it keeps attacking at that rate."

"You've got a point. Vulpix, use confuse ray on Groudon!" When the confuse ray took effect Kurishimi recalled Vulpix to its poké ball. "Okay, that bought us a few moments to regroup. What are our assets?"

"Three water Pokémon, four grass Pokémon, a Vigoroth, three Ninjask, a Venomoth, and whatever you brought with you, minus those who are too weak to battle anymore."

Kurishimi looked up Ninjask in her pokédex while she looked over the other Pokémon and reviewed her own in her head. She spotted a Vileplume on the opposite side of the battlefield which she instructed to use poison powder in conjunction with Venomoth to weaken Groudon's advancement after giving instruction to their trainers.

"That just gives us a minor handicap if this beast removed all the gym leaders and a majority of the army you brought with you," she said when the remaining trainers began to cheer at the status condition benefit. "I assume Groudon's been abusing its power to keep the spores away when you've tried it before so the only reason this worked was by drawing its attention away with the confuse ray. Instead of attacking Groudon like an advancing tank, which I admit it seems to be, we'll need to use a concrete strategy. As you said, water attacks aren't as effective in this heat while grass attacks are nullified when they meet a fire blast. Granted you've been doing alright, but if we're going to make any progress we can't rely on these attacks anymore. Ground types are also weak against ice and most water Pokémon can be taught a handful of ice moves. Do any of these water Pokémon you've mentioned have ice attacks?"

"My Sharpedo knows ice fang," one person said, "but it can't battle out of water so I haven't been using it."

"That'll do for now. How high can you throw your poké ball do you think?"

"Not much higher than Groudon's leg I bet. Why?"

"That should be enough. Send your Sharpedo as high into the air as possible so it can catch Groudon after gravity takes over. An ice fang from Sharpedo should do significant damage after the impact boost. Are you one of the Ninjask owners as well?"

"Yes, I am."

"That's perfect. Before sending out Sharpedo I want you to have your Ninjask use swords dance followed by a baton pass so Sharpedo gets the attack benefit. The extra power should surprise Groudon enough to allow the grass Pokémon another hit to it as soon as the confusion starts to wear off. Are there any other Pokémon healthy enough to battle that aren't being used?"

"I have a Spoink, but it's too young to be an effective battler," another person said.

"I've got an Aggron, but it only knows close combat moves. Groudon would take it down long before we could get in close," the acting leader told her. "I haven't had my Vigoroth close in to attack for the same reasons."

"That'll work sometime I believe. Keep it out of the battle until you see a proper time to use it according to your own judgment. Any chance you can find will help us out greatly. Now I need you all to do me a favor. Groudon is about to come out of its confusion so I need you to either draw its attention away from me or keep me covered. I'm going to use my Onix to burrow underground and get behind it where I can give you another angle of fire from. If Groudon uses an earthquake attack before we resurface we'll be out of the battle for good if not permanently buried alive."

"You have a plan then?" the Ninjask owner asked.

"Not a clue," Kurishimi admitted. "I'm just making this up as I go along."

"Here, take this," one person said as he handed her a poké ball. "One of the Ninjask is mine. You can use the baton pass strategy for your own Pokémon if you need it."

"Thanks," Kurishimi said with a nod. "Groudon's got control again. Give me cover fire, people!"

The grass Pokémon fired solar beam attacks at Groudon together, drawing its eyes from Kurishimi who quickly released Onix and went underground. While they burrowed she took a breath and tried to figure out what had just happened.

She had come into a situation she knew nothing about where people she didn't know were fighting a Pokémon outside her limited knowledge that was supposedly at the legendary level. It seemed that the remaining fighters were so desperate they were willing to listen to anyone who wanted to take over as leader despite the fact that she admitted to her own cluelessness. The whole deal didn't make much sense to her, but it was working so she'd just have to go with it. Even so she was currently in a spot where she was fighting a legendary Pokémon with a rag-tag bunch of trainers in a battle more about desperate survival than strategy. There couldn't be any way to win this fight that she knew of. How could anyone, even with minor backup, defeat a legendary Pokémon? The idea seemed foolishly impossible! Even when Akuma had tried to fight Raikou he'd been beaten to a pulp. Then again, Akuma had been confident because he'd defeated Rayquaza before he'd become a hunter and that was also a legendary Pokémon which she knew could pacify the behemoth she was currently facing. Maybe this test wasn't such an impossible task after all.

_There is no set goal during these simulations so there isn't any real way to conquer them either. I've tried to best such challenges a number of times and I still miss something every time I run them._

Then again it seemed she wasn't expected to win in the first place either. But even that didn't make any sense when she recalled Akuma's last words to her.

_Don't fail._

_That said, don't stop trying or take too much time to think things over._

Kurishimi's head was starting to hurt. She'd figure out the details as she fought.

Behind Groudon the ground tore apart as Onix emerged. Kurishimi was lucky enough to surface when Groudon fired another solar beam so they weren't noticed from the excessive noise they'd made. Recalling the recent strategies she'd been developing with her Pokémon lately she had Vaporeon join her.

"Vaporeon, did Chase ever finish teaching you how to use rainy day? This harsh sunlight is too beneficial for Groudon."

"Unfortunately, I never could do more than create a few small dark clouds during a nice day," Vaporeon admitted. "And while I agree that heavy rainfall has good strategic value right now, I highly doubt that I could even increase the humidity at the moment with Groudon controlling the heat wave."

"What makes you think Groudon is causing this heat?"

"I can't explain it to you since you're not a Pokémon, hon. I can just feel that Groudon is causing the intense sunlight in this region somehow. It's more powerful than when a Pokémon uses the more common sunny day technique too. The climate change from this legendary Pokémon feels impossible to counter."

"Yeah… powerful sunlight that's impossible to counter," Kurishimi repeated to herself.

"Uh oh, I hear those wheels turning in your head. What's going on upstairs?"

Kurishimi released Vulpix for another confuse ray to protect her support members while she explained her observations to Vaporeon. "Recently I came to realize that watching how your enemy moves and attacks is another strategy to winning, though a passive/defensive one which is not my style. Still, I can see that nearly all Groudon's attacks and defenses are focused around the sunlight. We can't counter them based on our current skill level, but we could twist the rules to our advantage instead.

"Here's what I'm thinking: Vulpix can benefit from the basic power increase for fire moves from the sunlight but Groudon can counter with earthquake attacks which when hit by a legendary ground type Pokémon will almost guarantee a knock out for the fire user. Some of the grass type Pokémon from the back-up teams can use solar beam immediately without charging like Groudon is doing, but they are removed from play with a fire blast. In addition, Groudon also has a third of its potential attack areas protected by the glare of the sun into the attacker's eyes at this time of day which is only intensified by its ability that much more meaning it knows we can't attack into that direction. I'm thinking that Groudon also can't stop the sunlight if it wanted to, provided there was enough of a threat that benefitted more from the sunlight than it does. If we can use the sunlight for better offense than Groudon we can turn our disadvantage into a handicap."

"Yes, wonderful ideas," Vaporeon said as she rolled her eyes, "but we still need the right Pokémon to make use of the plan before it can begin to work. And for that matter you don't even have a plan yet!"

"Okay, let me clarify then. In order for Vulpix to be useful we have to prevent it from getting struck by earthquake. To use solar beam we need a Pokémon that won't be affected by fire attacks as severely. If we can protect the right Pokémon from the most dangerous attacks we can reduce battle damage as well. I doubt we can take down a legendary Pokémon, but I know how to deal proper damage and pester it enough for us to endure."

Kurishimi released all the Pokémon she had brought with her, including Ninjask, and explained her plan. When they were ready all her Pokémon retreated into their poké balls to prepare for their cues.

First Kurishimi commanded Ninjask to use two sword dances before Groudon turned in their direction. With Ninjask being a bug and flying type, Groudon used a fire blast which Kurishimi and Ninjask avoided with a wide protect maneuver. The barrier defended the two of them from the blast while Ninjask continued to move faster. Ninjask's special ability granted it more speed the longer a battle was drawn out similar to a speed increase from an attack's effects. Because Protect couldn't be used twice in a row and still be reliable, Kurishimi commanded one more swords dance from Ninjask before Groudon recovered from the high powered move and used another fire blast on the now defenseless duo.

Expecting the attack, Kurishimi released Vulpix to take the center of the fire blast so she and Ninjask would be protected. The heat was intense from the sun's power, but Kurishimi and Ninjask remained safe as Vulpix absorbed all the flames. Vulpix remained undamaged due to its own ability called flash fire while its own fire attacks became more powerful. Realizing what had happened, Groudon prepared to use an earthquake attack before Vulpix could use the extra fire power to its advantage. Once again Kurishimi anticipated the attack and released a yellow Pokémon beside her which levitated both her, Vulpix, and itself into the air and out of danger while the ground attack passed them by.

While Kurishimi hadn't gotten used to her newest team member yet, it was quickly establishing itself as a valuable ally. It was quick to respond to commands with powerful psychic attacks with which it could attack as well as defend simultaneously. The major disadvantage in battling with it was the Pokémon required a psychically gifted trainer or the human would suffer from severe headaches. Since Kurishimi was not a psychic, she could only fight with her newly evolved Kadabra for two minutes at best. The effects also worsened quicker in close proximity and since the group had to be close together in order for Kadabra's confusion to lift more targets off the ground she couldn't use this strategy for more than a few seconds. Still, Kurishimi had expected this to happen and she had thrown yet another poké ball as the group was lifted into the air.

When the earthquake attack had ceased, Groudon fell back a step as if struck by an unseen attack. At its feet a pool of sludge laughed as Grimer's disable attack cut off Groudon from its second most powerful weapon after the intense sunlight. With the earthquake attacks no longer a factor for what she hoped was a long time, Kadabra landed the group and retreated into its poké ball. Kurishimi's head was already spinning from the close proximity to Kadabra's psychic powers, but she didn't have any time to regain her senses before Groudon struck again.

With fire blast neutralized every time Vulpix came in contact with it and earthquake unavailable, Groudon's next move was naturally a solar beam. To counter it, Kurishimi had her Pinsir take the hit while she simultaneously sent out Vaporeon. The solar beam's damage was halved due to Pinsir's resistance and Kurishimi noticed the attack didn't seem to be as powerful as she originally thought it might have been. Without hesitation she ordered Vaporeon to prepare the counter attack. Vaporeon absorbed the remaining energies from the solar beam as quickly as she could then fired a solar beam of her own at the center of Groudon's body. Due to the mimic move one of the hunters had taught both her and Kadabra, Vaporeon could now copy Groudon's attack as if it was her own.

As Groudon fell back a pace Kurishimi allowed herself a deep breath of satisfaction. Though Groudon could use fire attacks on the team, Vulpix was quick enough to prevent them from doing any damage as well as receiving a power boost at the same time which was also multiplied by the sun's effects. Grimer could remain underfoot and out of sight while crippling Groudon's attack capabilities. In case the earthquake attack was no longer disabled, Kadabra could emerge at a moment's notice to lift the group out of danger with its psychic reflexes. As long as she kept Pinsir in good health Vaporeon could be defended from the crippling solar beam while making use of the same attack and skipping the charge time with mimic and the harsh sunlight respectively. Though it didn't always have enough time to prepare, Pinsir could now also use a protect move to shield the team from danger if it didn't overuse the move. Ninjask was already at maximum power from a third swords dance and continuously getting faster as the battle went on. If the danger increased to a higher level, Kurishimi could use its baton pass skills to switch to a blindingly fast and extremely powerful Onix and possibly end the battle in a single attack. She looked up just then and finally saw the window in the sky Akuma had mentioned. He was standing behind the glass with Mr. Fuji and a number of other hunters. Though it was still a rare moment, she was satisfied rather than surprised when she saw a smirk of approval and satisfaction on his face that no one else seemed to notice.

Their morale influenced by the perfect strategy Kurishimi pulled off, the other trainers began to attack Groudon from behind. While Groudon was still off balance Vigoroth climbed up its back to attack a blind spot out of arm's reach. When Groudon turned back to face the refreshed attackers the former team leader already had his Aggron out and ready to attack. Aggron used a metal sound attack which lowered Groudon's special defense before it used a mud slap to lower Groudon's accuracy while it closed the distance. An iron head attack at close distance along with a bit of luck caused Groudon to flinch. In the small moment they had available, three out of the four grass Pokémon fired a solar beam which struck Groudon's legs and caused it to fall to its knees. The Ninjask trainer, who had been using the same strategy Kurishimi was, used a baton pass to shift Ninjask's power boost over to Sharpedo. Sharpedo's poké ball was tossed high in the air allowing it to descend like a missile. Because Groudon had fallen, the trainer ordered Sharpedo to use a screech attack before the ice fang in order to deal even more damage. The severity of the damage done caused Groudon to fall onto its side from exhaustion before Sharpedo was recalled. When this happened, every Pokémon capable hit Groudon at the same time with the most powerful attack they could bring themselves to do. Groudon roared out in pain before it collapsed to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

When the dust settled Kurishimi cautiously approached the fallen behemoth, unsure of what to expect. Even the most modest trainer would admit Kurishimi's quick strike strategy had been heavily effective on it, but Groudon was a legendary Pokémon even when fallen. She wouldn't let herself believe it could have been defeated that easily. She was right of course; Groudon had only been stunned from the sudden ferocity and effectiveness of the attacks, but it was taking a moment to catch its breath before fighting back once more.

"Take out the tank's treads and it'll be stopped in its tracks," she whispered to no one.

When she came closer to Groudon's head the beast opened an eye to stare at her. Kurishimi tried her best to look peaceful while keeping her fighting spirit apparent so Groudon wouldn't think of her as a weakling. She was proud of herself at the moment and in her mind she deserved a little respect from her opponent. Groudon growled at her threateningly as she approached, but didn't rise to fight back just yet.

"Oh don't be like that," Kurishimi snapped. "I didn't enjoy this any more than you did, but we couldn't let you go on anymore. I don't know what's driving you to keep going, but have you noticed what you've been doing? Wherever you go the environment is ruined like this. We're only trying to protect our homes from the devastation you're bringing with you. Is that really an unreasonable thing for us to do? Besides that, you're literally a historical Pokémon legend. Nobody here wanted to force our Pokémon friends into fighting you, much less defeating you even though we're probably a long way off from that still. If possible, please just go back to wherever you were resting up till now. I don't know how accurate this statement is, but if you do keep fighting with us I'll have my last Pokémon hit you with an attack so strong it'll probably knock you out for hours. Even if you're still kicking don't think the rest of these Pokémon would hesitate to keep on fighting you either. We want a peaceful resolution, but if we have to fight you until we can't stand up, we will."

Groudon glared at Kurishimi intensely before firing a mud shot from its mouth at her that threw her back nearly twenty yards. Kurishimi's body bounced and spun end over end, stopping only after she hit a rock with a sickening crunch. Groudon rose to its feet with Kurishimi and roared loudly indicating it wouldn't go back underground unless it chose to.

"Okay, now you've really ticked me off," Kurishimi said with a growl.

Using Ninjask's baton pass, Kurishimi switched Onix into the fight. Onix roared with equal strength to Groudon before rushing its opponent. The intense speed boost from Ninjask's ability allowed Onix to avoid Groudon's attacks with little to no effort. At close distance Onix rammed into Groudon with its new double edge attack which knocked the wind out of the beast and allowed it time to tightly wrap itself around the larger opponent. Groudon slashed at Onix with its massive claws, but Onix's body was made of the hardest rock available. Being wrapped so tightly also meant Groudon couldn't properly fire any distance attacks either.

"Battle's over, let's finish you off," Kurishimi said. "Everyone, recall your Pokémon and start running right now! Things are going to get very dangerous!" She recalled all her Pokémon but Onix as she said so. All the humans began to run away when their Pokémon were safe while Kurishimi gave Onix its final command. Unlike her other Pokémon, Onix was only able to master one new move from the move tutors among the hunters. The strain on its body was too extreme to allow for repeated training so progress had been slow. Kurishimi only wanted Onix to learn the attack as a final resort in case of extreme danger, but now was probably the best time to test the raw power the attack granted them. "Onix, take Groudon down. Show me the biggest explosion attack you can manage."

Like Lt. Surge's Electrode, Onix began to glow and emit beams of light from within its body while Groudon struggled to break free and Kurishimi ran for all her legs could endure. With the maximized attack power as well as being restrained by Onix's bind, Groudon would suffer an impossible amount of damage. When Onix finally detonated the force of the blast carried for miles. Kurishimi took cover behind a rock right before the explosion happened so the shock wave wouldn't toss her around a second time. The volume of the explosion nearly deafened her, but she endured the pain. When the dust and wind finally settled she peeked out from her cover to view the aftermath.

Onix and Groudon were both gone. In their place was a huge crater whose center couldn't be seen from a distance. When she approached the edge, Kurishimi saw both Pokémon sprawled out on the ground in the center. She knew Onix was unconscious due to the double edged effects of the attack and it seemed Groudon wasn't any better. She slid down the lip of the crater to the two Pokémon where she confirmed that even the legendary continent Pokémon Groudon couldn't survive a blast of that magnitude. Relieved that the battle had finally reached its climactic, and rather explosive, ending, she lay down on her back and stared at the sky until the blue faded away to a bright white. She closed her eyes as reality shifted around her until she heard approaching footsteps. She opened her eyes to see Akuma and Mr. Fuji looking down on her.

"Congratulations, Akashi, you won," Akuma told her.


	37. Poacher's Trap

"So in the end Akashi swept the program through flawlessly," Akuma finished telling Chad while they took a break in the lounge.

"How did yours go by the way?" Kurishimi asked.

Chad waved his hand in the air as he spoke. "Not so good. I couldn't figure out what was happening until it was too late. I was in a really pretty water themed city in the desert, but the people were all acting odd. When I found out they were actually criminals in disguise who were taking over the city they were almost too much for me to handle. I tried to hide in the nearby stadium where I could catch my breath before I fought again, but the head of the group was already there. I had to fight him too, but he had a really strong and violent Pokémon called Lunatone with him. I don't know what was going on there. I beat his Castform and Quagsire and almost beat his Metang, but his Lunatone was way too strong for me. I didn't know psychic powers could manipulate attacks that your Pokémon have already fired."

"Sounds like a really strange situation. Where did the idea come from, Akuma?"

"The city was called Phenac City, a small but attractive spot in the Orre region which is mostly desert. What Chad experienced was the Cipher takeover three years after most of the group had been arrested. We didn't know about the problem for a long time, and when we sent someone out there the situation had already finished. The Lunatone was a morally warped shadow Pokémon that was artificially engineered to become evil. We don't have much information on what actually happened at the time other than various reports on what other people have told us. The battle against the Lunatone trainer was caught on camera though, so we know he was exceptionally strong. Like Akashi's program, it's another of the higher levels I haven't fought yet. The simulated opponent's Pokémon are set to be a specific degree stronger than the user's Pokémon so the power difference for you was similar to how it was during the actual battle at the time. If I tried to fight him with my Pokémon he would be that much stronger than he was when he fought Chad."

A brief silence followed which was broken by Kurishimi.

"So… what happens now?"

"Now you two get to work on your most outstanding weaknesses. The computer and hunters were checking your performance for any errors in your battling styles and strategies. There are individual reports you may both read in regards to your most impressive and inventive moments as well as your most prominent and subtle errors. After I make one more trip outside of town we'll be leaving Lavender behind. You have until then to make the most of these facilities. Also while I'm gone I want you to go to the medical rooms, Akashi. I'm sure you broke some bones after Groudon's last attack."

"No kidding, I can feel where the broken ones are. I was already planning to stop by anyway."

"Hey, Kurishimi," Chad cut in, "weren't you the one who brought up the subject of performing less risky actions so none of us would end up in a hospital bed again?"

"Chad, if you say anything more I'm going to hide Ivysaur's poké ball from you for the rest of the day."

Akuma stood up from his chair. "You two can have your socially fulfilling argument without me. I'm going to prepare to leave for the power plant after I check on some of our newly acquired Pokémon." So saying he left the room, ignoring what the other two were saying to each other. Mr. Fuji was waiting for him in the hallway when he came out.

"You said you were planning a trip to the power plant, correct?" Fuji asked him as they walked together.

"Yes, I need to get a Voltorb for one of the Survivors. It'll just be an in and out job, then I'll take my group out of town again. I'm going to check on some of the newer hunter recruits before I leave here too."

"I don't think you'll have time for that. We just received a message from one of our card numbers asking for you specifically. From what we can assume there's a situation at the power plant where one of the card holders is in trouble. The message was cut off before we could figure out who they were or what the problem is. All we know is the location. How fast can you arrive there?"

"Fearow can fly me over Rock Tunnel pass in under an hour, but I bet I'll need more firepower so I'll take Charizard instead."

"Do you want special clearance so you can carry extra Pokémon just in case?"

"No, I'll have plenty of hard-hitters without it. I'm going to pull Metagross and Magmortar from their holding cells for a field test. They need some fresh air anyway."

"Should I send backup after you leave?"

"I'll be fine on my own. Send someone after me in a couple days if I don't contact you."

"As to the new recruits, we can take care of them without you this time."

"Glad to hear that. I hate meeting new people. It wears me out."

"Do you have any plans to take anything from supplies before leaving?"

"I just need insulated gloves in case I grab something with a charge. I'll sign out for them at the supply room before I go."

"Akuma, I don't mean to sound as if I doubt you, but this is a largely unknown situation. What should we do if the worst should happen?"

Akuma paused at the door to the supply room for a very brief moment before replying, "Go to the emergency plan I suggested to you before I left Saffron City."

Much later, in a room meant for hunters to privately contact their families, Kurishimi phoned someone with the poké ball in hand that she had secretly dropped before her test began. After the usual news, Kurishimi told them about what was on her mind.

"I've noticed that the computer programs and even the computer itself have unnaturally strange quirks depending on who runs the programs. Everything can be run manually and there aren't any requests about who the user is or what Pokémon they will be using. I think the computer is judging our Pokémon before the program begins which is impossible for as much as I know. I managed to sneak this Pokémon into a few practices as well as the major test I took today. Even though it's a very basic Pokémon compared to the modern world it gathered a ton of data without being detected by the hunters or the computer. I think something is really wrong here, so please go over every bit of information it can give you. Even if something small happens, like a hiccup in the program, check it out. I might be spending less time in the simulators if I can since I'm getting so paranoid over it now. Anyway, let me know what you find out next time I call. Talk to you later, bye now."

Before hanging up, Kurishimi transferred the poké ball to the person on the other end of the line. She sighed quietly while resisting the urge to chew on her lip for once. The Pokémon Hunters were a legitimate and capable force in the Kanto region, an undeniable fact. However she found it strange that they would have a computer capable of adjusting skill tests away from the basic difficulty level to skill levels which either Akuma or Chad could compete at with equal difficulty or simplicity depending on how they chose to set it up. Without Chad knowing, Kurishimi had retaken one of Akuma's programmed tests at a very low level with her most inexperienced Pokémon and found she could easily win with minimal effort. She noticed she could have also boosted the level to an extremely high difficulty rating, but she had been too scared to even think about how much harder a program could get that could already best her in only a few second's time. There was also a setting to have the computer adjust the test to a person's skills according to the records it had on the individual and their Pokémon. Kurishimi had tested this setting as well. As expected it gave her a decent challenge without being overwhelming no matter what Pokémon she brought in, but again, there was never a point where she had told the program what Pokémon she had brought in with her.

Kurishimi had grown more wary over the last two months so she knew something about the computer was not right. She did ask a few of the hunters about the computer, but they just said that was how the computer was built to run and would say no more. Chad seemed to know nothing about it, but he spent more time with books lately than training programs. If something really was out of place, and she was sure something was, there wasn't any point in worrying Chad anyway. Kurishimi didn't have any ideas on what results the Pokémon would reveal or even what she would do after finding out. Until the results came back to her though, there wasn't any point in worrying. For the time being, she decided to go back to her room and read over the training tips and reports Akuma and the hunters had prepared for her.

What she found was quite surprising. While her skills were ranked very high, her Pokémon's abilities were less than average. Akuma noted that she was focusing all her training on herself and learning new battle strategies while her Pokémon's growth was almost completely ignored. She was a talented trainer, but unless her Pokémon began to increase in strength as well her talent wouldn't do her any good. While Akuma was gone she had to focus her training on improving her Pokémon without paying attention to how they battled. Granted, she couldn't not pay attention to their condition during the fight, but it shouldn't be her main focus during the battle either.

First things first though. She needed to go to the infirmary for X-rays. At the moment her back was hurting so bad it was hard for her to even walk upright.

"Oh Akuma, before you go there's one other thing we found during Kurishimi's test," Mr. Fuji said as Akuma prepared to mount Charizard outside the building. "During her test she snuck in another poké ball which she left behind at the start of the test. The poké ball didn't open until later on and with the cameras focused on Kurishimi we could only capture a glimpse of it through the ashes. Except for the silhouette it's completely undistinguishable. It returned to its poké ball when the battle was ending and Kurishimi picked it up on her way out. We later noticed that some of our computer files had been accessed during the test. Is it possible that her Pokémon hacked into our computers to get the information?"

Akuma looked at the silhouette for less than a second before tossing the picture back to Mr. Fuji. "This isn't any of my business. It's between you and her only. I don't want any part of this."

"Akuma, you're a part of the hunters too. Anything that affects us will come back to you in some way as well."

"Good thing it won't be an issue by the time I get back, will it?"

"What is this Pokémon? Do you know what she was doing?"

"I told you it's none of my business. Take care of it yourself or leave it alone. I don't much care either way. Fly, Charizard!"

Charizard lifted itself into the air and flew towards the north, leaving Mr. Fuji to watch them quickly grow more distant. He'd recognized the Pokémon in the picture, but didn't know Kurishimi had a Pokémon of that particular species available to her. There were a large number of possibilities as to where the Pokémon came from, but at the moment he didn't have a clue. The species was extremely rare; so much so that it was a frequent offer to attract customers to the black market. It was also possible that Kurishimi was up to something dangerous by having the Pokémon invade the hunter's network. Akuma hoped he wouldn't have to hunt her in the near future because of it.

After passing over Rock Tunnel the two of them landed on the side of the mountain. The chimneys of the power plant stood proudly beside the river, showing all passers-by where the building was, but the smoke had stopped pouring out from there long ago. While some groups had moved toward the idea of tearing down the building so it wouldn't be an unnatural obstruction to the local wildlife, the plans were halted when it was found to be a haven for electric type Pokémon. Once in a blue moon some people would report seeing the legendary Pokémon Zapdos visit the landmark as well.

Based on the minimal information from the phone call, Akuma assumed there was a poacher at the plant. If the person's call was cut off the poacher probably found them and the caller was captured. That could have had both good and bad consequences. If the poacher was initially in a hurry to get in and out they would be delayed now as well as worried. On the other hand if they were doing a clean sweep of the building they would now feel rushed to finish and get out as quickly as possible before a strong opponent arrived. While these were the most common scenarios there could be other plans happening down there too. The reason Akuma planned to land on the side of the mountain was so they wouldn't see him coming if there was a lookout stationed outside and they were planning to ambush him when he came in.

Unfortunately there was still a long way to walk, so Akuma released Metagross from its poké ball and sat on top of its frame. After tucking its legs into its frame Metagross was able to glide swiftly down the mountain and across the grassy plains. Akuma kept a sharp eye out for anyone who might have been watching for him as they drew closer, but there weren't even any wild Pokémon about. He hoped they weren't too late.

At the edge of the tree line Metagross came to a lurching stop and because Akuma hadn't ridden Metagross before, he naturally flew a few feet before landing in a roll. Metagross was apologetic as Akuma took notes to practice their technique in the future. After returning his Pokémon to his chest straps, Akuma approached the building. He looked in the windows and listened at the doors but couldn't find anything out of place. The front door and maintenance doors were the only entrances that remained unlocked. While Akuma could've sent Gastly to sweep through the whole building to find the best entrance, the building was far too large to allow for that. Instead he sent Gastly to check past the few doors he had easy access to. Reports afterward were average rooms with nobody in sight. Based on random choice Akuma entered through the front doors.

In this first room was a visitor lounge and reception area. There were a number of labeled doors leading to different areas. Among them were doors leading to corporate offices, bathrooms, and a set of double doors for 'employees only'. Akuma looked in each of the bathrooms only to find empty space then walked down the halls where the offices were. All the rooms had been cleaned out except for two that were mostly filled with garbage. Save for the sound of his footsteps the building was quiet enough to make even Akuma nervous. He held Magmortar's poké ball in his hand for security when he made his way back to the reception rooms.

Akuma was cautious when he opened the last doors. While the floor had certainly seen a great deal of Pokémon traffic, the air throughout the building was stagnant. Light from the windows allowed him plenty of light to make his way down the empty hallway and through another pair of doors. Now he found himself in the main generator room. The mechanical behemoth was uncomfortably silent as Akuma climbed a ladder to the catwalks to get a better view. From the top he could see there was another back room where he assumed there were repair supplies in case of emergencies. He could also spot the maintenance door he opted against entering earlier.

Akuma made his way to the center of the room, still on the catwalks where he could observe the entirety of the generator when he realized what had seemed off about the building since before he entered. Despite being a habitat for electric type Pokémon the building had been completely emptied of all life. It was highly possible the poacher had cleaned the place out and left immediately upon finding the caller. All he could do now was to check the back room to see if the poacher had possibly left the caller or any clues behind. If not, he would have to track the poacher down on his own.

Not wanting to navigate the ground level of the generator's mechanical maze he crossed the catwalks to the far side of the room where he started the climb down another ladder. On his way down he missed one of the steps, lost his balance, and fell the rest of the way to the concrete floor with a hard crunch. Akuma bit his lip in response to the pain until he could stand again when he felt the back of his head throbbing. Touching the back of his head he discovered the fall had caused him to start bleeding. Fortunately the wound wasn't serious and after the dizziness passed he opened the door of the storage room.

Unlike the rest of the building there were no windows here. The room was completely dark, but filled with mechanical parts and shredded boxes. Akuma used Charizard's flaming tail to light up the room when he quickly noticed a female form collapsed on the ground. The girl's arms and legs were wrapped tightly with thick ropes and she had a gag in her mouth. She seemed to have been sitting in the chair behind her, but had fallen out and made her way forward by a few feet. Akuma quickly hurried over and removed the gag from the girl who he found was also unconscious and may have been crying before she passed out. Akuma immediately checked her pulse and was relieved to find she was still alive. Charizard used its claws to break the ropes while Akuma found a large soft berry to feed her. Fortunately the girl was able to chew and swallow it subconsciously. Akuma had Charizard carry her out of the room which he shut tight after exiting.

When they were clear of the room and into the light Akuma realized it was the girl he had met a week ago on the road to Lavender Town: Brianna Rennis. Realizing she was probably the person who'd called for him, Akuma tried to wake her up. With some coaxing she finally opened her eyes and smiled when she realized who was with her, then became worried.

"I'm sorry, they made me call you. They captured me after you left without telling me anything." Her voice was dry and strained as she spoke.

"Who did? What happened to you?" Akuma asked after giving her some water.

"I don't know. They took me here and threatened me until I agreed to call you, then tied me up in that room. I didn't think you would have found me."

"At least you're safe now. I'll get you out of here." Akuma started to pick her up again, but she resisted.

"No, we aren't safe yet. They've been waiting for you!"

Akuma quickly stood up and looked around. Coming from behind every corner were men and women sporting the ever hated Team Rocket insignia. Three familiar faces stood atop one of the generator sections. Akuma remembered their names as Chris, Kyle, and Niklos. Kyle was the first to talk as more people continued to appear around Akuma and Brianna.

"Now we've got you outnumbered, hunter. There's no way for you to escape us this time!"

Akuma quickly looked over the opposing numbers while Charizard stood closer to Brianna. "Almost outnumbered," Akuma corrected him. "Rush me all at once if you like. I'm stronger right now than you've ever encountered."

"You'd better think again about that statement, hunter. None of us need to fight you at all. We only came to watch you fall instead. Your opponent is right behind you."

Akuma turned around to see a male a few years older than him reclining against the wall in the corner and spinning a custom poké ball on one finger. For him, time seemed to freeze when he realized who it was. Akuma's anger went beyond the boiling point instantly, Brianna suddenly forgotten, while the man showed nothing more than what he knew was a deceptive smile. Charizard in turn seemed to become enraged. Its breath was warping the air with heat as fire seemed to flit through the air from its mouth while the flames of its tail quickly grew larger and more intense.

The man tossed the poké ball up before catching it in midair and chuckled at the reaction of the other two. "So you're really Akuma? You've grown up nicely, Little Survivor."

At those words Akuma's temper snapped. He rushed the man in a blind fury with two poké balls in hand and an already raging Charizard beside him while the criminals began to cheer.

"Beat him down, boss!"


	38. A Painful Loss

After two days Akuma still hadn't returned from the power plant. Only Mr. Fuji knew where he had gone and even though he was worried, the old man never let on otherwise. Fortunately for his composure, Mr. Fuji and two of the hunters were currently focused on watching Kurishimi and monitoring the computer files whenever she entered the training rooms. It was becoming more draining for them since her graduation test since the simulators got very little rest these days.

In truth, Akuma had chosen special tests presented to those who wanted to join the Pokémon Hunters. The process was that when a trainee wanted to graduate to agent status and go out on the field they were put through tests based on some of the most trying times in history and even then the difficulty of the tests was raised by five more levels than the person should normally encounter. The person introducing them to the test would also shake them by claiming how impossible it would be. In all honesty, Akuma had taken five of the special tests before he was satisfied with his performance and had still beaten every one. When he was bored, Akuma used to design new simulations that others would come to practice under. Of course nobody could ever best the simulations, but Akuma seemed to enjoy making them that difficult in the first place.

Because neither Kurishimi nor Chad had expressed interest in joining the Pokémon Hunters group they couldn't think of her as one of them, and so they were doing all they could to watch her as if she might have been a spy. Despite her constant training however, they couldn't find any sign of the mysterious Pokémon. Mr. Fuji was beginning to think that it was just a hiccup in the system and the Pokémon wasn't even real, but the flash of light when the poké ball opened as well as Kurishimi picking it up when she left was a guarantee that it must have been both real and intentional. Akuma hadn't been particularly interested in the mystery after he saw the Pokémon silhouette either, so where would they go from here?

A direct confrontation would not work since the Pokémon might have been removed from Kurishimi's team immediately after the session and not returned since then. Even with the video footage they couldn't get her to admit anything either. Because she had a pokédex there wouldn't be anything unusual about her having a seventh Pokémon as well since only pokédex holders were allowed to carry more than six Pokémon on their person unless one had special privileges. With that in mind however, it was possible that Kurishimi and Akuma had something between them concerning a seventh team member. Perhaps they were meant to see the Pokémon as a type of message that Akuma recognized before he left which would explain why he refused to be interested. But if that was the case, why were their files accessed during the training session? There were so many dead ends and loops to this puzzle that Mr. Fuji knew he wouldn't be able to solve anything without Akuma's help.

Speaking of which, it would only take Akuma few hours to travel to the power plant and back. Even with heavy resistance there shouldn't have been any problems, especially for the strongest trainer in Kanto. Maybe it was time to put Akuma's emergency plan into action. Mr. Fuji called together Kurishimi, Chad, Susie, and a brand new hunter named Blake who was brought in the day Akuma left. They all gathered in a quiet room where Fuji told them the details.

"Two days ago our most elite hunter, Akuma, went on a rescue assignment. The request asked specifically for him. The location was at the power plant to the north, which is a very short trip when you are able to travel by air. Judging by his skill alone he should have been back before dark, but is obviously long overdue now. Any number of things could have happened, but it is most probable that there was an underestimated trap waiting for him or he had an accident on the way. I am sending the four of you on a search and rescue mission to determine what happened to him. Search the course of the mountain tops thoroughly then make your way down to the power plant. Keep your eyes open for anything out of place and before you make any moves contact the hunter headquarters. I'll loan each of you a temporary pokégear to call in if you find anything. If you spot Akuma do not rush in to assist him without calling us first. If there is a trap waiting we want to know about it before someone else walks into it. In case you have an accident we will have a second team standing by. Are there any questions?"

Blake raised his hand. "Sir, how strong is the individual you mentioned? What are our chances to succeed where he failed?"

"Ask anyone in this building and you'll hear many stories about him. Akuma's skill and talent is second to none and in this group his status as a legend rivals that of the existence of the Pokémon, Mew. In our known world there are only three forces which are able to defeat him at full power, including Arceus. In fact I think you nearly gave Susie there a heart attack from saying you've never heard of him. All you're doing is looking for him; you won't be completing his mission. Are there any other questions?"

"Yes sir, one more. Forgive my manners, but why are non-hunters being sent on this mission with us? Wouldn't they slow us down in tagging along?"

"Down Chad," Kurishimi said when she saw the boy tense up.

Mr. Fuji quickly cut in before something more could happen. "Miss Kurishimi is a long time direct student of Akuma. She passed a level 16 simulation on the day Akuma disappeared. Yours was a relatively bland level 10 at best and your Pokémon are trained more sharply than hers have been. Chad is also a newer student of Akuma's, but his progress and creativity are extremely impressive as well, as is his knowledge. You might all learn something new from each other as well as group teamwork, which is an essential skill for advanced hunters to learn."

Blake glanced at the 'non-hunters' with wide eyes. Kurishimi gave a silent nod while Chad had already turned back to Fuji, though he was apparently still annoyed by the other's previous comment. With no more questions the group left for the supply room where Mr. Fuji gave them temporary pokégears before heading out

Naturally Kurishimi chose to fly on Skarmory. Blake's flyer was a larger than average Golbat that allowed him to cling to its back. Susie brought out a huge green and brown long-necked dinosaur Pokémon with four equally large leaves growing out from its back named Tropius. On its neck, oddly enough, there was a cluster of bananas growing. Still being without a flying Pokémon, save for Pidgeotto who was still unable to carry passengers, Chad was allowed to ride with Susie.

Since they all knew to fly out to the power plant no conversation was made before the flight occurred. After they flew out of the city they quickly came to Rock Tunnel Mountain which they chose to fly over instead of around, knowing Akuma had done the same. The flight was slower as they scanned the area for any life or signs of battle until they reached the peak where they spent a moment looking in all directions before going down the side of the mountain. In approaching the power plant on foot they viewed signs of returning wildlife which they were unaware had been absent two days ago. They made sure to approach the building more cautiously than they would otherwise while Blake kept an eye behind and above them. Kurishimi went ahead of the group to the front doors while the rest stayed a few yards behind them. She went inside before quickly coming back out to motion the others in. Chad and Susie followed immediately while Blake took a few more minutes in case someone had been watching the first three enter.

After all four were inside they checked the office area just as Akuma had done before entering the generator room. Kurishimi chose to hide behind the reception desk as backup in case of a rear ambush, allowing Susie to take the lead again. Entering the generator room, Blake took the catwalks while Susie stayed on the floor and Chad brought up the rear, also from ground level. After checking every hiding place and corner across the room they began approaching the storage shed which had since been destroyed along with the surrounding area and a good portion of the generator. Blake was able to jump down from the catwalk in an earlier place from where Akuma had departed due to the destruction ripping the catwalk apart and leaving twisted metal that stopped partway to the ground.

Chad fell back further while Blake stayed at a distance and Susie began to climb into the wreckage. Fortunately only the front half of the shed had been ruined and even then it had imploded, or purposely been smashed in, so any intact evidence might have been inside. Because the wall and door had been warped, Susie used an evolved form of Scyther, known as Scizor, to tear off the door with the monstrous claws that had replaced the blades of its former body. Even then the door did not give way until it had been crushed into a lump and the walls were forcibly torn wider.

There were no enemies inside as Scizor discovered, only storage containers and other equipment were shown by the light. After Scizor returned to its poké ball Chad used the flame from Rapidash's mane to brighten the area. The three began investigating the room until they found a trap door underneath a cluster of barrels. Feeling uneasy, Blake stayed behind and outside the shed while Chad and Susie climbed down the ladder into an even smaller room. Fortunately this area had lights installed and turned on, but the sight which was awaiting them would have made the darkness more preferable.

Akuma was lying bound to a hospital cot, his skin now burned and scarred from battle. His vest and shirt were absent as well as his poké balls. He was unconscious and the only sign that he was still alive was the slow rise and fall of his chest. To the wall beyond him was a young girl, conscious and obviously suffering from dehydration while restrained with weak chains that were bolted to the wall. Though the chains were not particularly strong, it was apparent she would not be able to escape on her own even though there were also poké balls on her belt, though she could not reach them from the position she was bound in. Other than the duo, the room was empty. Leaving his teacher to Susie, Chad quickly rushed over to the girl and helped her drink from a bottle of water he had brought. Susie called up the ladder to Blake who quickly appeared and left to make an emergency call back to Fuji when he saw what had happened. Chad used his Rattata's hyper fang attack to break the chains the girl was bound with and immediately had to slow down how fast she drank the water he offered.

"She's too weak to talk at the moment, but after a healthy rest I think she'll be okay," he reported. "How is Akuma?"

"Not good in the slightest," Susie decided while still taking off his restraints. "He isn't suffering from malnutrition yet, but he needs treatment as soon as possible. I can treat him to a small degree before we leave fortunately. I'm not sure yet how we can transport him though."

As she finished removing the bindings Akuma slowly woke up. He was able to speak even though he was obviously in pain in doing so. "The… girl?" he asked weakly.

Susie was startled, but still answered him. "She'll be fine. You're in worse condition than she is to be honest."

Akuma nodded then quickly became worried. "My vest. Where is… the cherish ball?!"

"We don't know since we just got here. Take it easy for a moment and we'll search for it after we get you out of here."

"Not important… need to find it now!" Akuma said desperately. He weakly pushed Susie aside and fell off the bed. Susie began to help him up, but he pushed her away and stumbled toward the ladder. Chad expected him to fall off, but Akuma slowly managed to pull himself out of the hole anyway by some miraculous effort.

"When you two are ready, help her out of here. I'm going to try calming him down," Susie said to Chad before she left. After emerging from the hole she saw Akuma rooting through the wreckage for his vest. "We already searched the piles around here. We didn't find anything relevant until we came across you," she told him.

"Search again," Akuma said gruffly before moving out of the shed. Blake was startled when he saw what looked like a zombie emerging from the doorway, but Akuma naturally just ignored him while he surveyed the area. When he spotted the damage to the generator he moved over to look inside the hole and breathed a sigh of relief when he found his vest and poké ball straps. He checked the inside of his vest first and smiled when he found the secret poké ball was intact and hadn't been emptied. His poké balls were also full as well, but he wouldn't open them knowing how critical his Pokémon's conditions were. Then he realized only five poké balls were attached. One was missing! Hurriedly he checked those still on the straps. Metagross, Charizard, and Magmortar weren't missing thankfully. Gastly was also securely strapped on as was Scyther. He hadn't brought Infernape or Houndoom so it wasn't a primary battler. He thought over those he'd brought two days ago for a moment before he realized which one it was. The generator was still empty and it was unlikely Team Rocket had stolen it as well so it would have to be in the area somewhere.

Susie emerged from the shed to report, "I couldn't find anything. Oh you did find them. That's good then."

Akuma quickly came over to her. "Did you… find any poké balls… on the way here?"

"N-no sir, we searched the plant up to this point but couldn't find anything."

"Keep looking… one is missing," Akuma struggled to say through a cough before he began to check the area around him more closely.

"Blake, give us a hand," Susie instructed.

The three of them began carefully moving aside the debris. While Akuma was slower than the other two, he was clearly more desperate in his movements. Finally Blake called out that he'd found something behind the shed and Akuma scrambled up the wreckage immediately, but he quickly stopped when he saw what it was.

While Susie and Chad's discovery had been terrible, this one was beyond hopeless. Still in shock, Akuma knelt down beside the crushed and bloody form at his feet and gently touched its broken frame with one hand. Knowing better than to say anything, Blake quietly retreated down to tell Susie what he'd found.

"Are you alright… Ariados?" Akuma quietly asked the mangled creature in front of him, but there was no sound or movement in response. "You'll be alright. I'll find your poké ball… and take you to a Pokémon Center… you'll fight again… later, I promise. Come on… stand up and we'll go. Please, Ariados… let's just… go home. Please…"

Exhausted both physically and emotionally now, Akuma wrapped his arms around his dead Pokémon and began to quietly cry until the rescue team arrived.

**I feel like this chapter comes really close to fan abuse, which I should point out I don't like by the way. My sister starts to tear up whenever Ariados comes up now and I feel like doing the same whenever I read that last part. This is probably the saddest thing I've ever written, but that makes me proud too in a way.**


	39. Feeling the Pressure

**Sorry this one is late in coming. I've been busy making a Youtube series and completely forgot to update this.**

Mr. Fuji himself came with the extraction team which consisted of a cargo and medical helicopter. After he was physically and emotionally stable enough to leave, Akuma entered the medical helicopter with the injured girl and Susie while Kurishimi and Fuji heard the details about what had happened. The two were brought to the medical room for emergency treatment right away while Kurishimi began to seriously consider having a medic travel with the group to cut down on hospital visits every time they came back in town from somewhere.

The girl, whose name was Brianna, was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration after her encounter with Team Rocket. Akuma on the other hand was not so lucky. The doctors found that he had not only broken bones, burns, and scars, but most of his wounds hadn't properly sealed leaving horrific gashes in the skin which had been worsened when he tried to force his body to move on his own in search of Ariados. A large number of muscles had been torn as well, making it a miracle that he was able to move on his own in the first place, much less pull himself up a ladder without help. Akuma was constantly in and out of surgery over the next few days while the doctors continued to find things they had missed, new wounds from the body giving out in certain areas, or previous treatments that hadn't held up or needed multiple fixes before they could fully mend.

When she was healthy enough to tell a story, the group heard from Brianna what had taken place at the power plant. She had been kidnapped by Team Rocket and held captive for a short time until an ambush was successfully prepared for Akuma. Using a contact card Akuma had given her earlier they had Brianna make the call with a specific request for Akuma and no one else. They fed her infrequently during the time forcing her to become weaker until they had prepared so she couldn't help when the ambush was sprung. After she had been rescued a small army lying in wait kept him from leaving the building while one extremely powerful trainer battled with Akuma. Even though she was convinced he couldn't lose, the single trainer overpowered him with Pokémon so dangerous that nearly all of the Team Rocket members left the building in fear before the battle had ended. Despite the extreme training he was known to practice, Akuma's Pokémon were torn apart with little to no effort from his opponent while he was severely beaten during the exchange as well. Based on how they interacted from before to after the battle, Brianna believed the two might have known each other from before, and based on what she could pick out it sounded like Akuma's opponent was the leader of the criminals, come to fight their greatest enemy one on one. After the battle the enemy was courteous to return five of Akuma's Pokémon to their poké balls though they could not find the sixth. Akuma's vest and straps were stored in the generator as a 'reward in case he managed to escape' while ensuring no scavenger could steal them as random loot. The two were then were then placed in the storage room with a final warning that Akuma should never bother them again if he lived long enough to get another chance before the two were left for dead.

"This is a dangerous turn of events," Mr. Fuji said after learning the whole story. "Akuma has always pursued and apprehended all members of Team Rocket whenever he encounters them, but nobody could have expected the trump card to be played this early. I was sure that Akuma could have finished the feud the two of them have had very soon, but obviously he was not the only one in training."

"I know it may not be the right question to ask seeing how nothing we do can change the answer, but how strong would someone have to be for Akuma to lose so completely?" Kurishimi asked. "Granted this is a powerful enemy and being his personal final challenge of sorts anyone would think he's a strong opponent, but isn't Akuma the best hunter here? We've all seen his skills and we've all probably been on the receiving end of them in some way as well, but he still lost spectacularly and that will be a permanent memory for him too. I know he isn't going to stay on his back like he was told to do, but how much stronger can he get? How can he begin to compete with someone infinitely more powerful than him?"

"Akuma isn't a quitter," Mr. Fuji assured her, "especially not regarding this particular enemy. He'll lose over and over if he knows there will be one important victory to end it all in the future. Still, after Metagross evolved he may not have been training his less experienced Pokémon as well as he could have since he has to look after the two of you along the way. Even then there is only so far he can come on his own too. After he has fully recovered, and after the… funeral and second recovery regarding Ariados, we'll see how he is mentally. I want him to take time to relax for a while and get away from everything. Akuma is stretched far too thin to be as effective as he could be. His sense of duty and personal convictions are hurting him if he won't take time to relax. Shortly after we honor Ariados, I want the two of you to leave Lavender Town on your own in secret."

"What?!" Chad and Kurishimi yelled in surprise.

"I haven't finished my training yet," Kurishimi said frantically. "I've been with Akuma for a long time now!"

"And he just barely agreed to train me too," Chad cut in. "I've barely had a month's time to learn anything."

Mr. Fuji whacked his cane loudly on the floor. "Calm down, the both of you!" he said in a voice of authority. "The two of you are being childish!" Chad barely held his tongue in saying that he still was a child technically, but Fuji didn't give him the chance to do so. "When the two of you became Pokémon trainers you were alone. A vast number of people train their Pokémon in solitude, opting to travel and train without the influence of others. Akuma did the same thing his whole life until the two of you showed up. When he came by the two of you began to follow him because you were unsatisfied with your skills. He trained and tempered you into a strong pair of individuals, but it was your own hard work that got you there.

"Kurishimi, I know what you were like before you started out and I know how long you stayed that way too. You had the attitude of a coward who only played with her Pokémon as pets and yet you wanted to travel the world and earn gym badges by defeating powerful gym leaders in battle. When were you going to start following this dream of yours? You were too frightened to even leave your city until you had someone with you! You would likely still be there today if Akuma hadn't come by to take you away. Even now you can't go anywhere unless someone holds your hand and brings you with them. You're better than that now. You've got plenty of talent, but it needed to be pulled out of you because you couldn't manage it on your own. Akuma put you through an intense training test meant for some of the most skilled hunters to face and you conquered the simulation flawlessly. You have the talent, you have the ability, and you have the Pokémon that you lacked years ago, so why are you still using someone as a crutch? The best thing you can do for yourself is to walk out of this sad town on your own and never look behind you. You might have learned from the best, but you can't improve anymore until you start making an effort to do so!

"Chad, you know that I know about your first battle and how badly you lost. I doubt anyone could have failed at that battle as horribly as you did. Despite your embarrassment you learned enough in less than a month to calm and capture a Gyarados that was not only wild, but beginning a rampage that would have destroyed a major city. Not only that, but you have such a strong natural bond with your Pokémon that four of them, _four_ of them, evolved at once due to a sense of unity, friendship, and trust that was shared between your group. Young man, this occurrence is so rare in the world that I've never heard of it happening before. I have heard of an evolving group of three and seen a pair do so at once, but having something like this happen is practically unheard of. Boy, you've got something between you and your Pokémon that Akuma never managed to achieve. I've tried for years to teach him the one trait he lacks and he isn't learning a thing. You have the potential. You have the skills. You have the choice to make the same decisions he did and either fail or succeed. You can make other choices too. Are you going to train Pokémon all your life? Are you going to give up eventually and find something else to do with yourself? You wouldn't be the first, I can tell you that right now.

"The truth is, neither of you should be in this cozy group right now, but Akuma will never tell this to you. You know why that is? He needs your company! When Akuma was growing up in the streets as an orphan he was almost entirely alone, when he left this town by himself he was alone, when he came back he was alone, when we offered to train him for years he wasn't part of the hunters so he was still alone, when he left to travel and train in new regions he stayed alone, when we sent him to awaken and battle Rayquaza we didn't give him any support leaving him alone once again, when he came back here feeling on top of the world his closest friend and source of strength had become the enemy leaving him alone once more, when he joined the hunters he chose to be alone because that was the only thing he knew, and now that he's traveling with you two he isn't alone anymore. He has friends! That half dead man in surgery has been alone for his entire lifetime. He has been nothing but a crippled shell ever since his best support left him and now with the two of you in his life he is not alone any more. Akuma has changed for the better. He's opened himself up to you two more than anyone has ever been allowed. I'm proud of him for this and even happier, but now he needs vacation time for himself. He needs to be alone for a while and relax. His mind is too stressed right now and with the sudden death of his Pokémon and forced encounter at the power plant he won't be able to function properly. I will be sending him on vacation for a while until he is ready to come back. In the meantime the best thing you can do for him is to take yourself to the next level of training and start traveling on your own for a while as he did. When he is ready to meet with the two of you again you will be stronger from the solitude and that will make him proud. Do you understand this?"

Kurishimi and Chad sat dumbstruck on the couch in Brianna's room. Mr. Fuji's words cut severely into them and they knew he was right. Having traveling companions made the journey much more enjoyable, but they relied on each other too much. The three of them could help each other not to slack off in their training, but they traded progress for accountability in doing so. Akuma was holding back his power and progress when he engaged in training sessions with the two of them and in turn they were unable to come up with their own style of battling, having come to mirror Akuma's approach instead. By that logic it made sense for them to go their separate ways, but….

After a very long silence Kurishimi stood up. She had sat in silence long enough to ponder Mr. Fuji's words and had apparently reached a conclusion. Chad looked up at her, afraid that she would agree with what the old man was saying and begin preparing to leave.

"Mr. Fuji, your words are not without merit," she said in an almost mechanical voice. "It is true that we may be preventing Akuma from reaching his full potential. It is true that by traveling in numbers we are trading personal progress for safety. It is also true that I need to break away from him in order to become stronger and better myself. For these reasons it would be best for us to disband our group and go our separate ways."

Chad was hurt and afraid. He could barely keep his body from shaking while Mr. Fuji displayed a victorious, and possibly wicked, grin. However, Kurishimi was not done and now her voice grew apprehensive as she pointed a finger at the old man.

"However, you are wrong in saying that the best thing we can do for Akuma is to leave him in an act of kindness because you obviously have no clue just who we are. Akuma is our friend, as we are his. Did you even look at him when you arrived at the power plant? Did you really take a good look at what was obvious to everybody else? Akuma should not be conscious, much less be able to move around in the way he did. He pushed himself beyond his physical limitations to find and rescue his Pokémon and when he did there wasn't a friend waiting for him anymore. Did you pay attention to what I just said now? He didn't lose a soldier for his personal war, he lost a friend! All his Pokémon are his friends. Have you seen any emotion from him lately beyond anger? I doubt that you have. Want to know what I've seen? I have seen that man smile. I've seen him laugh. I've watched him fight to protect us both in desperation. He's been hurt when he missed his chance to protect us and I don't mean disturbed, I mean complete guilt and regret when he's missed the chance. And you know what else I've seen? I have seen him cry. What about you? Did you just see a half dead creature when you picked us up or did you notice that he had been sobbing and pouring out his emotions for a Pokémon that he considered to be a true friend?

"That wasn't the only time it's happened either, I've seen more human from him than I've ever witnessed from anybody here that I didn't feel was genuine. I heard you laugh a few times, but they were all empty sounds without any feeling behind them. I know you respect Akuma enough to not share some details about him, but I think that type of respect is really fear talking or perhaps it's just because you know it's the right thing to say. Just like you said, you've known him his whole life, right? Well then why don't you tell me why he's been alone his entire life?! You don't treat him as one of your adopted children of the town like you claimed to, you treat him like the head of a company would treat their future inheritor, or a prospective business partner, or even a weapon and that's all he is to you. All you care about is his performance. The best thing for him may be a vacation, but that is not what he needs right now. Right now he needs us, his friends, and not mercenaries who only care about results, to stand next to him. When he wakes up again he will be traumatized and grieving. That is not something a day at a resort will fix. I've known him for years while you never knew him at all! I know that what he needs are friends to be there next to him. He'll never admit it or show it, but at least I can tell he appreciates it without needing that kind of confirmation!

"Maybe we can all become stronger if we go our separate ways, but you had better believe me when I tell you that I will fight every corrupt person in this building that gets between me and him before I let you tear us apart. I don't care if I have to fight with my Pokémon or my bare hands, you will not break up the best thing that has ever happened to him. Do _you_ understand _me_, Mr. Fuji?!"

The old man was at first irritated by the young girl's spirit, but when it became apparent that her passion was sincere and did not come merely from her ego he suddenly began to feel very small. Unlike what he had said, she did not take the time to plan her words before she spoke them. Kurishimi Akashi was firm in her newly spoken affirmation of friendship. There was nothing Mr. Fuji could say, nothing anyone could say, to counter the words that had come from her mouth. He risked a glance in Chad's direction as well, but even then all he found was a fiery glare from the otherwise innocent ten year old boy. Hoping to find some support in the girl his team had rescued he looked toward Brianna… and immediately wished he hadn't. Despite being weak and sickly and hardly knowing anyone in the room, or even being closely acquainted with Akuma for that matter, the young girl was practically dripping with hatred. Suddenly Mr. Fuji felt very alone. Slowly at first, then quickly he escaped the room and closed the door. When the door clicked shut he started breathing again, not knowing when he had stopped. He turned to walk down the hall when he realized Jason was waiting by the door and seemed to have heard the entire exchange.

"Do you have anything to add?" Mr. Fuji baited him, unable to tell what the other was thinking.

"I don't think I could top that," Jason replied coolly. "I'd say you got what you deserved."

Still reeling from Kurishimi's assault, Mr. Fuji was too tired to reply. In a huff he quickly walked away.


	40. Ariados's Funeral

Nobody came to visit Akuma after he'd regained consciousness, and that was what he preferred for now. If Akashi or Chad had stopped by they would have asked about his condition or how he was taking the loss. If Fuji or another hunter had come in they would have asked for a mission report. He didn't want to answer either one at the moment, even though his mind was fixated on the two. He had not been caught off guard when he was ambushed, the enemy had hidden perfectly. Perhaps if his rage hadn't blinded him into recklessness he could've fought better though… no, he would have still lost. The Pokémon he fought were all of the highest levels and the enemy was a master strategist. Even at his best he would not have won, but maybe if he had been able to restrain himself more then Ariados wouldn't have…

Akuma pulled the pillow over his face so the walls wouldn't see his tears. Ariados wasn't a fighter, but it was a highly valuable member of his team. Aside from Gastly when invisible it was the most suited team member for stealth. It could bring down multiple opponents before anybody saw it, before he could spot it even. Akuma had gone back to Fuchsia City multiple times for special training specifically for Ariados from the ninja master Koga and his daughter. Captured as a Spinarak, Ariados was a late addition to his team, but Akuma had put so much time into training together that few of his other Pokémon could match their closeness. In fact, Ariados was perhaps just as much a family member to him as Gastly. Akuma's biggest regret however, was that he had never spoken this truth to his Pokémon. Sure they rarely spoke to each other, opting for silent respect, but Ariados deserved to hear those words all the same.

Feeling empty inside while seething with rage, Akuma remembered the face of his enemy during the battle. Smug, arrogant, confident, and without equal, he fought Akuma not as one would fight an enemy, but with an attitude of casual indifference as one would flick away a slowly approaching bug. Akuma wasn't supposed to be broken in that battle, it was a warning. It would be no problem to simply dispose of him if the two were to encounter each other again. The man was beyond justice or retribution as a single man. There was no force able to contain him save for those Pokémon of mythical lore, but he would have no desire to face those creatures so his power was guaranteed to remain unmatched for all time. Perhaps he had not even meant to kill Ariados, but it happened anyway by accident which made his power all the more worrisome. Akuma remembered the last blow he'd seen his friend take, and it was probably the one that did his friend in. The blow from the enemy colossus would have given almost any Pokémon a fatal injury and Ariados had flown through the air like a wet rag upon impact. Not even the opposing Pokémon were trying too hard to win. If the battle had been taken seriously from the other side there might not have been a corpse to recover when the rescue team arrived.

It was all the more clear to Akuma that his fate would be to win in due time, but there was no way to do so. He could train for years and pass beyond his enemy, but surely that would be predicted. His opponent was obviously still bettering himself as well and who was to say he would merely stop at a whim? Akuma already couldn't fathom the levels of power he had fought so there was no way to know how much training he would need to do to begin with. Even if his resolve had been strengthened again it was impossible to match that kind of raw power on his own. Nobody in existence fought like that man did. No trainer or Pokémon was that powerful, that brutal, that barbaric, that…

Akuma's thoughts suddenly broke. He was wrong. He had faced an opponent of that power before; three times in fact. The first time he had been outmatched to this degree was on top of the sky tower when he'd battled Rayquaza. The second time was when he explored a small group of uncharted islands where his chances of survival were all but gone. And the third one was…

He slowly and fearfully looked over to his equipment across the room. Nestled inside a secret pocket within his vest, sleeping within a blood red colored poké ball was the third enemy; the insane, bloodthirsty, murderous Pokémon that he had not only defeated, but managed to capture. Three times he had faced death of the same brutality he'd been subjected to a few days ago and come out alive and victorious. He carried what might have been the answer to his victory, but did he dare to use it? Was the only way to defeat a monster by using another? At least the recent enemy had a sense of reason and strategy while this option was simply that of pure unopposed destruction. And yet, perhaps that made his enemy the more dangerous of the two as well. Even if he did choose to resort to that option there would still be the matter of how to deal with the one left over, but it seemed to be the only way at this point.

Akuma forced himself to take a long calming breath. He didn't have to feel rushed in his decision right now. He would take his time to recover and while he did there would be plenty of time to go over the options available to him. The hardest part was finding the one right answer among all the impossible choices.

After Akuma had finally recovered enough to leave his room, he did so. Nobody had come to visit and so he paid no one any mind as he walked down the halls. All those he passed took notice of him, but said nothing and stepped to the side. Whether it was out of respect for him or in memory of his fallen companion, he didn't know or care at this point. He made his way to a special room reserved only for him where he shut himself up for a number of hours. When he came out there was a special belt across his chest and waist which carried every Pokémon available to him. Again he walked through the halls unchallenged until he found his way to a large freezer. Quickly he entered and left this room, bringing out a box shaped coffin containing the body of Ariados on a wheeled cart. From there he went straight to the elevator, finding the halls now deserted. He ascended to the ground floor in silence, ready for a long walk to Pokémon Tower where he would forever lay to rest his companion. When the doors opened however, Akuma had to bite his lip hard to keep his emotions back.

Lined up down the hall on the left and right, hunters of every age and rank stood at attention in militaristic fashion in honor of Ariados. Most were human, others were Pokémon that Akuma knew had either sparred with or befriended his Pokémon at some point. He paused for a moment to calm his nerves before slowly walking down the formation. As he approached, each of those in line snapped their feet to attention and raised a hand in salute. Akuma wasn't able to make it halfway down the hall before he felt a tear in his eye, and for once he didn't hold it back.

Akuma brought Ariados down the line until they came outside where the line soon came to an end. Also standing at attention outside the doors were Akashi, Chad, Fuji, the Survivors, and surprisingly Brianna, all of whom showed the same display of respect and appreciation from those in the hall. As expected however, they were not quite as composed as the soldiers who had preceded them. Mr. Fuji himself was waiting at the end for the pair, showing no sign of anything on his face, though he was leaning heavily on his cane with both hands. As Akuma came to a stop before the wizened old man, his teacher brought forth a decorative medal which he placed at the head of the coffin. In the center he placed a hammer and chisel as well.

"The grave waits for him on the topmost floor of the tower," Mr. Fuji told him. "The honor has been rightly earned, but the epitaph is yours to carve. Take however long you need, we will send no one for you. You will climb to the top this time."

With those words the old man stepped to the side, stood as straight as his old body allowed him to, and raised his hand up with the rest of them. Akuma bowed his head and allowed himself the smallest of smiles.

"Thank you," was all he said in a whisper as he walked toward the tower in the distance.

At the doors to the tower Akuma paused and brought out every Pokémon he owned. It seemed right to him that all those closest to him should help escort Ariados up through the tower. Besides, even the strongest ghosts wouldn't dare come near to him with a force this large at his back.

Charizard walked out in front, opening the doors and leading the way through the unnatural fog within the tower. As they ascended the stairs the fog became thicker with the presence of ghosts, but the fog suddenly parted as the army came nearby. Akuma didn't recognize a thing about the tower from when he had met Gastly, but it wouldn't have made sense for everything to stay the same after more than a decade either.

Things steadily grew more weathered and worn the higher they climbed while the fog grew thicker as well. When they came to the level where Akuma had stalked the ghosts with his Gastly in disguise the fog seemed no more deadly than those the group had passed before. Akuma quietly wondered if it was because of those he walked with or if it was an indication of how strong they had become, but he brushed the thought aside. It wasn't time to reminisce at the moment. On the sixth floor just before the stairs that would take them to the final room the ghosts moved as if to bar the way threateningly until Charizard gave a growl informing them he was not in the mood. The fog moved aside much quicker than those which had parted earlier.

On the seventh floor there was no spectral fog since even wild Pokémon knew to respect those buried here. There were very few graves nearby so it was easy to pick out the place Mr. Fuji had reserved. It was, like those nearby, not a simple grave, but not especially remarkable either. A statue of the future occupant was carved in place on the top of the headstone in a similar way to those nearby. Akuma didn't look at the neighboring tombstones. He would pay his respects to them at a separate time, but it would be disrespectful of his purpose for coming if he did not give this one his undivided attention.

Those of his Pokémon who were able, lowered the grave into the hole. Being within a tower the hole was actually made of dirt which had been filled into a very thick floor. When the coffin was laid to rest within, Akuma placed his poké balls on the ground behind the group. Though he didn't say a word, the others knew to leave when they had finished saying their quiet goodbyes to their companion. After a short time Akuma heard the first of his Pokémon leave. He didn't turn to see who had left. As the group steadily became less and less, Akuma thought about what Ariados had been to the team and to him. He closed and opened his eyes many times as he allowed the memories and thoughts to wash over him until he was ready to finish the task. Surprisingly, the only Pokémon left with him at that time was Magmortar.

Akuma was sure he knew what his Pokémon was thinking about, and that neither of them wanted to bury their friend for good. After much effort they finally began to cover the coffin with dirt, the medal resting nobly in place on top, and placed the paving stones over the soft earth when the hole had been filled. Magmortar took only a few more seconds before turning away to be with the others after the job was done. All that remained was to carve the final words into the stone.

"You know," Akuma said to the grave as he knelt down with the chisel, "we never talked much, just the two of us, but you were like a brother to me. Even though you were young compared to most of the rest of the team I felt like I'd known you for a long time. I wish we could've spoken a bit more, now that there isn't any time left, and I know I don't need to say anything but you know that I know I can't do that. For all the people and Pokémon I've known, you were the real hunter. The tracking, capturing, and everything else when it came to finding our targets, you were the best at them. You were like me it seemed, but you had more of a conscience than I. I always resorted to brute force to finish things, but you were always the subtle one, finishing things without doing more than what was necessary. I think that might have been the only way we were different though. If I didn't know any better I'd say you might have been my reincarnation had we lived in different times. I'm rambling I guess, but I can't leave without telling you these things. My real family wasn't good enough to be considered one, you know. Well I guess you would know, wouldn't you? After all… Anyway, I'm trying to say that I appreciated you I guess. And I'm sorry I waited to tell you that until now; until this happened. Some people say it's better to regret saying something than saying nothing, but I wish I'd told you this stuff earlier. I guess that's all I've got to say then, but I'll get him for this, Ariados. I promise. I know what I have to do to win now, and even if I don't succeed I'll make sure someone else will. One way or another, I will beat him, I'll humiliate him, and I'll make him so afraid of me that he'll regret what he did to the both of us. I only wish you didn't have to die so I could figure it out. For that, Ariados, thank you. You gave me the key to end it all. I am very grateful for what you've done for me over the past years and even into death. You were like friend and family to me, and I'll always remember you as such. Goodbye."

With that, Akuma placed a now empty net ball at the base of the tombstone. Standing up straight he also saluted the grave before he departed in silence.

ARIADOS

SOLDIER, COMPANION, AND CLOSE FRIEND

KILLED WITHOUT REASON

GAVE AN ANSWER IN DEATH

HE WAS CLOSER THAN A BROTHER TO ME

AND WILL BE REMEMBERED AS FAMILY


	41. Last Days in Lavender

When Akuma returned to the base things were once again functioning as he wanted them to. People were working again and based on how often he'd been around lately nobody had any particular reason to show him special attention. There were some who would give a smile and nod when their eyes met his and he gave them recognition, but that was all the attention he exchanged with others. Nobody approached him to offer consoling words or encouragement, and for that he was glad. When Akuma left Pokémon Tower he had finished his period of mourning. Any attempt to bring up the topic would do more harm than help. From this moment on it was just another day for him.

Akuma found Brianna in the guest rooms first thing when he came back. After she reassured him that she was in good health Akuma informed her that the same incident would probably not occur again. The fight was meant to discourage him from getting involved with the criminals again in some way and until he could afford to devote his time to the hunt once more he would do just that. Brianna could again reserve the right to call him if she was in trouble and that she had done nothing wrong given her situation. Akuma offered the hospitality of the Pokémon Hunter's building for further recovery and, if she wished it, the most basic of training for self defense since she was an unexpected visitor to those nearby at the moment. However he did caution her against staying too long since it was a very secretive place intended for highly advanced trainers and Pokémon. Brianna agreed to consider her choices and the two talked for a little while before Akuma left her alone.

Next he found Akashi in the halls and chose to walk with her for a short time to get recent news. Maybe it was just his current feeling of calm, but she seemed easier to speak with during this time. There was definitely something different about her in the way she handled her words and carried herself and Akuma enjoyed her company more than he expected to. Out of curiosity and intrigue, he drew out the talk a little longer than he had planned before telling her of his plans to take the group southward to Fuschia City for various reasons. He also forced himself to bring up the topic Mr. Fuji had spoken with him about before he left for the rescue mission. The topic surprised her, but Akashi was willing to explain what had happened. After that he excused himself to look for their shorter counterpart.

It took a little longer to find Chad since the boy was in neither the training rooms nor the usual research spot. Instead Akuma found him in the history section of the library. It seemed unclear what the boy was looking for since the books seemed to have no concrete connection to each other, but Akuma didn't feel like asking even though he did so to make a courteous greeting. After receiving a vague answer he told the boy of his plans as well and made it a point to stress how he would be taking Chad specifically to the Pokémon gym for an official battle. Chad wasn't sure which emotion to register at first, but settled for appreciation. Akuma soon left him to his studies to find one more person.

Mr. Fuji was sitting quietly in his personal quarters with his back to the door while writing on a scrap of paper. Akuma gave him a moment after he entered while Fuji greeted him in a reserved manner.

"I'm glad to see you've recovered so well after your rather brutal encounter, Akuma," Mr. Fuji said in a tone of voice that made Akuma wonder whether the old man was glad to see him at all. "I assume you've come to tell me what your hopefully well-thought out plans will be now?"

"Yes, I had planned as such," Akuma replied while trying to hide the suspicion in his voice. "I have quite a number of plans for the near future, not all concrete, and since I might not be back for a while I thought it would be best to visit before I leave."

"An interesting choice of words seeing as how you actually make me wonder what you might be planning for. I assume you have an idea for a rematch then?"

"I have an idea, but it won't happen soon. There will be a lot of personal growth within the next few months' time, during which I will be on and off the radar of the public eye as well as the hunters for a long while. But that doesn't matter at the moment, so let's stick with what I came here for. To begin with I need to head back to the power plant. Primarily because I need to catch a promised Voltorb for one of the Survivor kids, and secondly because I want to look for any clues or evidence the battle might have left behind for me. The fight was very large in scale so I'm sure there will be a large enough area to look over. After that's done I'm going to make a special training program for a certain individual that can only be unlocked by a DNA scan. The person isn't related to my traveling companions or Brianna in any way, nor are they associated with the hunters. I will keep the program in a separate storage unit which I will give to this person for keeps. They may choose to use it here at their own discretion, or in a separate location of their own choosing where a basic computer is accessible even though the program is intended for simulation runs to be most effective. I'm only telling you this because I don't want you investigating the program or person. This is a secret project of mine that I want to keep between myself and the other individual only. After I'm done talking I expect you to forget about it. Next up, I want you to start using your profits to start an economy in the town beginning with hotels and stores as quickly as possible. A few days after I leave town I'm going to start directing people here. If others start putting in their money here in any way we can start employing what few residents we have left and possibly bring in some food. I know we've been focusing on restoration up to this point, but it hasn't been getting us anywhere. I've spoken with a few other people on the subject as well and they have agreed to start bringing in tourists and businesses again. Lastly I'll tell you my plans for my own group. Firstly, when Brianna is done recovering here show her all the hospitality you can then let her go when she is ready. I've already spoken to her so she will be expecting this treatment. In a day or two I'm going to take Akashi and Chad to Fuschia City. The fresh air and attractions will do us all some good. For your information, until I get to the city I'll be leaving my strongest team members here so be prepared to deal with them when the time comes. For now, that will be all the information I have to report."

Mr. Fuji rhythmically tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair in thought while he considered what Akuma had told him. "Very well, I will keep these things in mind. In return, I want you to answer questions of my own now and please do be truthful in answering them."

"As I always am," Akuma stated simply.

"For starters I want to know how much you trust the people you travel with. I know they are capable, but how far will you-"

"I trust them enough to travel alongside them by choice and not by obligation. While I do not consider them to be my friends, they are optimal companions that I place a great deal of trust in as they do in me. They are certainly the closest people outside the city that I wish and desire to be close to."

"Tell me your thoughts on Kurishimi as a person then."

"A bit rash, but she thinks before she acts since I started training her. She values lives and appreciates growth and improvements in both herself and others. If there was one person I would choose to back me up in any given situation, whether hostile or friendly, she would be my primary choice."

"What of the boy, Chad?"

"He is still a child and thus he is very naïve. His questions seem to branch off into even more questions that I don't have the patience to answer. However I see it as a thirst for knowledge and not a mere curiosity regarding the unknown. Judging by his currently observed rate of growth and ability to adapt, I believe he has the potential to become a Pokémon master in the future. The average trainer simply learns what choices to make in and out of battle, but a master, and this is where his growth shines the most, learns why he makes these choices. Chad's skill level is deep, and it will be decades I believe before he taps into the few things he does not know."

"High praise coming from you, boy. With that in mind, have you told them your stories about Shinji or Shiner?"

Akuma flinched at each name and there was an unintentional pause from him. "Akashi knows about the latter, or well enough I should say. To my knowledge Chad knows nothing beyond the existence of it unless she has told him what she knows."

"She hasn't, I can confirm that. Now since you consider them to be so close to you, and because you are a friend to them as well,-"

"I don't consider them to be my friends," Akuma repeated.

"Hush up, I'm not done talking. Since you three are so close to each other it would be beneficial for you all if you were to tell them both of these stories. While you consider it to be irrelevant, it is not fair for you to be keeping such closely guarded secrets from them at this point. I know this may seem like a lecture meant to bore you, but-"

"I'm bored already actually."

"I said hush! I'm telling you this for your own good boy, and possibly theirs too! Brianna was badly wounded alongside you and you two barely knew each other. It could soon become even more deadly for those you travel with if it hasn't already. These are the two biggest threats to anyone through you if someone becomes your friend. Yes, I know you don't consider your relationship to be as such, but it is whether you like it or not. Now for you to become who you want to be you need to accept this fact and allow it to happen, even embrace the idea. If you deny it, then your rematch will have the same results during your next battle. Should you decide to pursue the idea, tell them what they should know, not what you want them to know. Even if you decline they must know who and what they travel with for their own safety. Those two are the best thing that has ever happened to you so you must work to keep them close. Do not abandon them either or you will become what you hate."

Akuma's face hardened at Fuji's last line. He had to bite his tongue for self control while the old man waited for his reply with the slightest of smiles few could catch. Akuma interpreted it as a sign of victory which almost forced him to lash out, but by some miracle he held his tongue, in more ways than one, until he could find the words to say. He wanted to simply thank him for the advice and leave at best, or say he'd consider the option if necessary. But while he intended his reply to be considerate his words seemed to come from his thoughts instead.

"I am nothing like him, and you know that better than anyone. Don't you dare throw your guilt and regret about letting Amber die for good at me either. I can accept the death of my loved ones with grace, but you wallow in your self loathing and shame over what could have been. Everyone knows it, so don't deny it. I can leave the past where it is just once and it will stay there instead of returning to haunt my thoughts at a whim. You can't do this and you expect me to do the same. I do value my friends, old man, and as much as I respect and value you as a mentor I do not regard someone like you to be a friend to me or anyone. Ariados is dead just like Amber is dead, but only one will ever stay buried. I keep my companions of all kinds close to me. I know I will never abandon them. I am nothing like you, Fuji, and I do not want to be. If you ever suggest anything like that again, no matter how vague, I will make what's left of your life so miserable that you won't have time to remember you once had a daughter. If you hadn't done so much for me over the years I'd be starting that right now. You know better than to bring up that demon, so drop it for good."

Akuma couldn't stop himself from saying such venomous words to his mentor. They weren't very well composed either, but somehow the message seemed to strike home as Fuji recoiled away. Akuma almost turned around to see if Arceus itself had appeared behind him. He didn't think he could make such an impact by rambling on.

After a moment or two Mr. Fuji slowly spun the chair around so he could look out the window. "It would seem… I have been mistaken quite often as of late. You truly are a marvel among marvels, boy. You not only command others, but inspire with your presence as well. I wish I knew what made you who you are so I could know what I missed back then. Regardless of your decision, only one thing remains now that must be resolved before you leave us."

"And that is?"

Fuji turned back to Akuma with a determined look on his face. "What Pokémon did Kurishimi sneak in during her exam and what was she trying to do?"

"Didn't you ask her yet?"

"We've been busy and I'm tired of worrying so I'm going to ask you and get an answer. Which one of her Pokémon was that?"

"It wasn't one of her Pokémon. Not as far as I know anyway."

"So it's a recent acquisition?"

"No, it does not belong to her. To my understanding it's a rental Pokémon from someone else. She borrowed it for her test."

"Fine, it was a rental then. Now stop evading the question and answer me simply!"

"It's none of your business really, but I'll tell you anyway. The Pokémon she borrowed was called Porygon. It's an inorganic Pokémon designed to interact with computers and other technical devices. You won't know about it for two reasons. First, it was created by humans. Not in a laboratory like the one you know of. The Pokémon is composed entirely of data and virtually nothing else, no pun intended. It has no territory or nest beyond cyberspace so it can not be tracked by normal means. I owned one for a few months during my Hoenn visit which is the only reason I know of its existence. The second reason is that there are very few of the species in existence. Creating such an intelligent and complex creature is long and expensive. They are sold on the market for around $10,000 at base price. The former kingpin Giovanni used to produce and smuggle the species for as much as $40,000 as well. For these reasons it can be considered so rare that they will never exist in the wild or far from computers. Most consider it to be a phantom or extinct species as well."

"Interesting. And all the more impressive that she has access to one."

"Not if you know her and who she knows as well."

"So you say, but back to the original question again. What was she doing with it in the testing area?"

"Easy enough to answer. She was aware of the computer's Pokémon sensor and suspected it to be illegal technology."

"Ah, I see now. She figured out that the programs we use for training will go through self-modifications based on the user's Pokémon on hand and scanning their brain activity, correct?"

"That's right, and by my investigation less than an hour ago she is sure that what we're doing is not illegal now. She's not a threat to what we do around here so there will be no more suspecting her of anything. Is this agreeable?"

"Very well, I'm convinced, Akuma. You may go."

"Thank you, but out of respect for her abilities I should bring up one point which I have failed to introduce until now."

Mr. Fuji tilted his head to the side in a visual display of curiosity. "Go ahead…"

"If the training program was frequently used by Akashi prior to the test, if her Pokémon and skill improvements were accurately recorded in the system up to that point, if the Porygon did not alter the coding in the program while inspecting it, which it didn't, if the program was set to level 16 for her, if all seven of her Pokémon were indeed scanned and analyzed by the computer system before the program began, and if the computer naturally expected her to use all seven Pokémon to fight the Groudon in addition to predicting her taking charge of the crippled trainer's Pokémon group, just how powerful a trainer do you think she is to complete the training session with a six Pokémon team that brought down a legendary Pokémon which was designed by the computer to be fought with a roster of seven? Even then she only used five to fight until the last minute, not counting the Ninjask since it was indirectly involved. I don't train others to succeed against the impossible. I teach them how to survive the hopeless."

After Akuma left the room Mr. Fuji's face was still white as he tried to comprehend the facts laid before him. For months after that day he would try his hardest to find just how she had managed to succeed, but would never find the answer. When he finally gave up he began to consider the unthinkable. Kurishimi Akashi could be many times more powerful than her teacher and Pokémon Hunter legend, Akuma Masurao.


	42. In the Caves of Route 14

Two days later Akuma, Kurishimi, and Chad finally departed from Lavender Town, their final errands completed. Akuma had been especially busy during these last moments in his hometown, but few knew or inquired about what he was up to as usual. Brianna left a day before the others, claiming to head towards Cerulean City. Akuma escorted her to the rock tunnel cave system before flying off to the power plant. Kurishimi and Chad continued on with their recent activities until they left town as usual. They went to those they had come to know best throughout their stay to say a personal farewell before they left, but none of the three endured Mr. Fuji's presence for long. When it was Kurishimi's turn the old man seemed respectful to the point of nervousness though she couldn't guess why that was. Akuma made his own detour through the town and met up with the others in the outskirts right before they left. Together and on their own again, the three trainers headed south along the fishing route toward Fuschia City.

"Soooo, what are the chances of stopping by the fishing spots later?" Chad asked.

"Non existent," Akuma quickly said.

"Oh come on! We've all got water Pokémon now that haven't been to the ocean in a long time. We know they would appreciate it enough to stop by for a little bit and we can look for new ones to catch too."

"We don't need any new Pokémon at the moment. We all did enough growing since leaving Vermillion City that any newcomers would be a burden. And if your Pokémon wanted to go for a swim they should have used the simulator before we left. I'm not turning around at this point."

"Just because you hate the water doesn't mean we're restricted too, Akuma," Kurishimi said in a teasing voice.

"I'm not hydrophobic," Akuma quickly replied. "I just really, really dislike being around water. That's the only reason."

"Yeah, there's already a word for that. You know what it's called? Hydrophobia."

Chad laughed while Akuma's cheeks slightly colored from embarrassment at the obvious blunder he'd stumbled into. "Either way we're not going. Besides, more trainers and wild Pokémon varieties may be found on this side of the road anyway. It's much more productive to stay away from the water. Most fisherman trainers only catch Magikarp and Goldeen anyway. It's even more wasteful to be stopped by them."

"Even if you say that, I don't see much activity around here," Kurishimi said as she surveyed the landscape.

"It's because we aren't far enough out of town yet. Just wait and we'll find something interesting."

"There's more interesting things by the water though," Chad mumbled.

"Don't count on it entirely. There's something interesting nearby, but neither of you two noticed it yet."

Kurishimi looked up in the air while Chad looked away from the direction of the ocean toward the grasslands. "I don't see anything very interesting," she said after a moment.

"Like I said, neither of you have noticed it yet. Now stop looking around and start paying attention."

Silence between the three resumed as they continued down the road. Eventually Kurishimi noticed what he was talking about, but didn't say anything. Still, she began to walk a little more stiffly until Akuma nudged her with his elbow.

"Loosen up or he'll notice. We can take care of it after we pass something suitable on the side of the road."

Chad had indeed noticed Kurishimi's change in behavior but hadn't figured out what they were talking about. Akuma also hadn't tried to speak quiet enough that he couldn't hear either which was strange considering what he'd said. Then suddenly he understood what they were talking about. It would have been easier for them to say it flat out, but he didn't dare confirm what he suspected. As the road stayed bare for a long time Akuma eventually got impatient and whispered something to Kurishimi. She looked at the ground before kneeling down and started fiddling with her shoe.

Akuma stopped walking and turned around to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"My shoe came untied. Give me a minute."

"Take all the time you need."

Knowing it was safe to look now, Chad turned around to see someone coming up the road behind them. He was watching the three from half a mile back and seemed to have paused for a moment when Chad and Akuma looked in his direction, but kept coming toward them as if nothing had changed. By the time Kurishimi had undone and retied her shoe he had come close enough to wave at them without seeming like he had been following them. Knowing how long ago it was since Akuma had possibly known he was behind them however, Chad seriously doubted the innocent coincidence. Kurishimi got a sign from Akuma to stall while Chad acknowledged the other person with a forced wave of his own.

"Are you three heading to Vermillion or Fuschia City?" the person asked when he had come close enough.

"We travel where our feet lead us to," Akuma said. "We have no set destination expect where the road should stop."

"Um… okay then. Anyway, in case you head south instead of east you should know there's a roadblock on the way. I'm heading to Vermillion to try to catch a ferry to the city instead. Since the road will be blocked for a long time I'm hoping they give rides to Fuschia for cheap."

The man continued on down the road while the trio waited until he had made some distance before they started to talk again.

"Mysterious roadblock ahead," Kurishimi thought out loud, "with no explanation or description other than being expected to take a long time before it gets removed. I assume our options are to either fly over it or to take the ferry, correct?"

"There is always a third option, but I assume we can fly over it, yes," Akuma agreed.

"We can also dig under it or swim around it," Chad started to say before Akuma cut him off.

"There will be NO swimming around it!"

Kurishimi chewed her lip again, this time to keep from laughing while Akuma glared at the back of her head after she turned away.

"We can probably avoid it easily enough," Akuma repeated. "We'll keep going south and look at the roadblock ourselves."

Again they started their walk down the road, but Akuma immediately stopped after a few steps.

"Wait, something's not right here. We're out in the middle of the open right now aren't we? To my knowledge the road goes on like this for a long time until we have to cross some cliffs followed by a forest. Even then there should be multiple roads people can take while they travel so a roadblock shouldn't be such a problem for most people."

"Maybe it's in an inconvenient location?" Kurishimi offered.

"That's possible, but not likely. Such roadblocks would be broadcasted with an option for simple alternatives. Taking a wide detour to another city shouldn't be listed as one of our choices."

"Here's a thought," Chad suddenly said, "stop wondering what kind of roadblock we should take and check it out for ourselves before flying over it?"

Kurishimi shook her head. "You're right, Chad. There's no point in wondering right now I suppose. Let's just keep going for now. Are you coming, Akuma?" Akuma was staring down the road as far as he could see and didn't seem to want to move yet. "Hey, are you paying attention? Come on, let's go!"

"This is a pretty open area, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, you said that already. What's your point?"

"Considering how far we can see ahead of us, where did that man disappear to?"

Kurishimi and Chad looked down the road to find that their visitor was nowhere in sight. There were no alternate roads or places to stop that they could see, yet he had vanished as if he simply ceased to exist.

"I've read about this kind of thing happening before in ghost stories," Chad voiced to no one, "but seeing it for real is kind of… scary."

The two senior trainers looked in all directions cautiously, but couldn't find a sign of him anywhere. Kurishimi had a shaking hand over a poké ball at her waist and even Akuma seemed worried.

"Walk," Akuma finally said.

Kurishimi looked toward him anxiously. "What are you-"

"Walk!" Akuma repeated again. Immediately he started walking quickly down the road again with the younger two following closely behind him. Each one was frightened, but walking onward was all they could do anyway. Even though they hadn't voiced it, each of them was secretly glad night hadn't fallen yet. Unlike the younger two however, Akuma had just realized that the man was familiar to him. In most circumstances that meant trouble so he was determined to keep moving forward for now.

A few hours shortly after noon the terrain began to shift from a scenic grassland hike to jagged and rocky terrain as the three drew closer to the cliff area. While it would be easier to take a detour through the mountains they would lose nearly a week's time while being in a generally unexplored region where they would most likely get lost for an even longer period of time. Their best option was to maneuver the cliffs and valleys by foot for now. Their first change in scenery came when they began to descend into a wide canyon.

"This might explain the possible roadblock," Chad said to himself. "An avalanche in a place like this would really slow down any foot traffic."

"Depends on the type of avalanche," Akuma corrected him. "There aren't many rockslides that can't be climbed or flown over as a detour. Even then it's easier to clear such a roadblock than opt to send out word for people to take a detour. That ghost also said it was one that may take a few days to clear as well."

"That really was a ghost?!" Chad said in a panic right before Akuma quickly shushed the boy with one hand.

"Before you start panicking again keep in mind that if this is an area prone to rockslides an echo from a loud voice or any other such sound will probably cause even more of the same thing. Keep your voice down while we're in the canyon or we'll get crushed. As to your surprise, I couldn't think of another name or suggestion that seemed to accurately describe the mystery that he was. Ghosts do not appear in daylight anyway. Your fear is misplaced."

After Chad nodded his understanding Akuma removed his hand from the boy's mouth. After his mention of possible rockslides Kurishimi began to study the cliff faces as if the scenery might crash down on them at any given moment from Chad's short outburst. It was then that she noticed there were a few signs of Pokémon wildlife living nearby as well. A high number of Spearow and a handful of Pidgey were nesting in the walls of the cliffs while Mankey and other nimble Pokémon maneuvered the difficult footholds among the rocks. She caught hints of other creatures, but for the moment there were none to identify. Though the Pokémon had taken notice of the group they made no move to defend their territory, but most eyes were watching them as they walked deeper into the dangerous area.

"I think Akuma's right about loud sounds being a problem here," she noted. "This area we're walking in isn't very large and the wildlife is the territorial type. If a battle here of some sort were to cause any rockslides the nesting places would be destroyed and some Pokémon could be killed in the destruction. I think we're lucky that it's possible or else we'd have been attacked from all sides from the moment we entered the canyon."

Akuma gave a small grunt of approval. "Nice observation, Akashi. I hadn't thought of that possibility."

Kurishimi wasn't sure what to make of his comment since he kept his voice low enough that his tone was missed. Even so, it felt good to hear positive acknowledgement from him for a change no matter how much of it might have been genuine. Her feeling was halted from curiosity however as Akuma stopped and looked behind the group suddenly.

"What's wrong?" she asked as quietly as she could, remembering the last time Akuma sensed something coming from behind.

In response he put a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet. Akuma crouched halfway down before quickly and silently moving across the ground to look around the corner they had come from. Apparently he had seen nothing since he soon stood up and came back to the other two.

"It was nothing. Just my own paranoia I suppose. Sorry if I scared you."

After a few minutes they began to see openings in the walls that deepened into a cave system. They inspected a few openings to look for any indication of past travelers, but found no signs of such until they came upon a lopsided tunnel where a small pile of twigs and rocks at the entrance were a common sign among hikers as an entrance to a safe tunnel system. After Akuma taught the others about the difference between safe and danger signs and gathered a few stray branches for later use they made their way into the tunnel system.

As the light began to fade Akuma brought out young Sableye to scout a few yards ahead of the group while Kurishimi used Vulpix to give them a soft light source with a hovering will-o-wisp. After Chad marveled at Akuma's unique gem-covered Pokémon they followed Sableye by Vulpix's light. The group came to many crossroads where Sableye didn't stop to ponder at which direction they should go and also found themselves going up and down steep inclines throughout the tunnels until they came to an intersection with six different paths where Sableye slowed down. Here they paused for a rest, allowing Vulpix to rest inside the poké ball after lighting one of the branches Akuma had collected. Sableye foraged for rocks and minerals to eat while Kurishimi distributed health bars among the trainers. After Sableye had its fill and decided which tunnel to enter they began to hike once more by torchlight instead of wisps. Soon the tunnel began to widen and Akuma thought they would soon reach the exit, but the group began to slow as a deep rumbling sound began to sound through the tunnels. Progressing cautiously, they followed the sound to what could have been an exit, but the opening was blocked by a large dark blue mass which seemed to shift with every rumble that sounded.

"And this is where we have a problem," Akuma said to the air. "I bet this is the impassable roadblock which we heard about."

"It's strange that we found it just by heading straight though," Chad observed. "Maybe we took a wrong turn?"

"Not likely. Sableye is a cave dweller and if any of those side passages would lead to an open exit we'd have gone through there instead. Sableye can sense the air flow and currents in the tunnels and led us here because this is the best source for fresh air other than where we came in. You can see some light around the edges of the blockage near the top and bottom which is where the air is getting in from. If Sableye led us here due to this much air flow the other tunnels would have all been a dead end. Unless we can figure out how to move the blockage we'll have to go back the way we came and find another way to Fuschia City. Chances are pretty low we'll find another sign for a safe cave entrance so either we detour to take the ferry or we get through this loud thing."

Kurishimi felt across the wall with her hands. "It's pretty soft and a little fuzzy so it's organic. Based on that noise I'm guessing it'll be a sleeping Pokémon of some sort. I don't know what kind though."

"Okay, then find out for us," Chad said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Why me? Why don't you do it if you know how?"

"Because I have a plastic card as a trainer's license while you have a pokédex, duh," was Chad's reply.

"And what does that have to do with any… oh my gosh." Kurishimi blushed slightly in embarrassment as she pulled out her pokédex and pointed it at the mass in front of them. The light from the glowing display was blinding and it took a moment before she could see what they had come across. "Oh no, this is not good," she told them when she saw what was blocking the exit. "It's a Snorlax. Weighs over one thousand pounds and after eating its entire weight in food it goes back to sleep for a month's time. We can't get out this way."

Akuma rubbed his forehead in defeat while Chad crossed his arms as he stared at the back of the beast. Kurishimi kept looking through her pokédex for a way to move the Snorlax, but beyond the music of a pokeflute, which none of them had, there was no known way to coax a Snorlax out of its slumber.

"Maybe we can use our Pokémon to move it," Chad suggested. "How much exactly does this Snorlax weigh?"

Kurishimi scanned the Pokémon for the creature's current specific weight. "Oh dear, it's above the average species at the moment so it must have eaten recently. Its current weight is 1,128 pounds. I doubt that we can move it with all our Pokémon's power combined."

Akuma smacked Snorlax's back with an unusual black colored poké ball which bounced off the rubbery flesh and onto the ground. "It won't activate the poké ball's capture sequence either. It's so deep in slumber that the poké ball registers it as an unconscious Pokémon or just unable to fight. Both are true technically and I wasn't expecting it to work because of the safety features on most poké ball models, but I was hoping an apricorn created poké ball wouldn't have that feature installed. I'm going to have to send a letter to the league to have heavy balls outfitted with a disable option for safety purposes in case of Snorlax emergencies after we get to Fuschia." He held out the burning branch he was carrying to Snorlax's back briefly before Kurishimi could stop him.

"Not only is that cruel, but it won't work!" she scolded. "Snorlax's fat insulates against heat and cold. Fire and ice attacks do half the damage to it in battles as well."

"Useful in battles, but it's troublesome in this case. I don't have Metagross with me right now so there's probably no way we're going to get out of here. We'll have to head back after all. Let's get going." Akuma started walking back the way they came with Sableye at the front while the other two trailed behind him.

Kurishimi sighed to herself. "Akuma, I know Metagross is strong, but I don't think even it is strong enough to muscle Snorlax out of the way."

"I wasn't going to shift its position. I would have it psychically lift Snorlax away from the entrance so we could get out."

Kurishimi stopped walking to slap herself repeatedly in the forehead. "I am having such an off day today. I can't believe myself. We might be able to move Snorlax with my Kadabra's powers!"

Akuma's shoulders fell as if to confirm Kurishimi's absentmindedness. "I retract my previous statement regarding your awareness. Bring it out then and we'll get out of this cave."

"Actually there is one problem to be honest. Kadabra's psychic power is so strong that the closer we are to it, we'll get severe headaches. I don't know how long it'll take for Kadabra to move Snorlax so we could all pass out before the opening is clear."

"Can we just keep our distance then?" Chad suggested. "If we stay down the tunnel far enough we won't get headaches as quickly so Kadabra can finish the job while we're all safe."

"Not good enough. I still have to be nearby while Kadabra works. It has an impish nature and might decide to hide outside somewhere while we don't know that the tunnel is clear. After we do check later it'll be waiting somewhere outside for us to find it and with its teleporting ability we might never do so. I have to be close by to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I'll take temporary control of Kadabra then," Akuma announced. "Kadabra only causes headaches in people without a strong psyche. We all know I've got a strong mental stability so I can command it for longer than you. If I do start to pass out I can hold on long enough to pull Kadabra back into its poké ball. If this doesn't work we'll go back the way we came."

"That sounds good in theory, but I doubt Kadabra would listen to your orders and we don't have the luxury of you taking the time to earn its respect either. It might even try to give you a headache for kicks. Is it worth the risk for you?"

"The other option is to backtrack through the cave systems, get on a ferry, and go across the water."

"Ah, I see your point. Okay then, we'll make the trade."

Kurishimi held out her poké ball containing Kadabra but Akuma held up a hand in denial. "No, let's raise our chances of me being able to control him first. Pokémon listen to their trainers first over everyone else so let's add that factor to the chance of success."

With that, Akuma sat down and took off his vest. He laid it out on the ground with the edges open and exposing the inside. Chad saw that there were four more various pockets inside the vest that he wouldn't have guessed could be successfully integrated with clothing in such a way as Akuma had done. The secret pocket containing the mysterious poké ball was easily noticed by the spherical bulge on one side as well. With so many options for equipment and items one could only guess at how much Akuma's vest actually weighed. Chad also observed that a previously concealed large hunting knife was sheathed in place behind his back on the same strap that his poké balls were attached too. Akuma unzipped the base of his vest to reveal that the back of his vest was also a large pocket of sorts as well. From within the vest backing he pulled out a thin metal case which he opened. Inside were electronic components which had been folded with precision underneath a display screen which he began to open out.

"That looks very familiar for some reason," Kurishimi commented.

"It should. It's the modified version of the portable trading system I got in Saffron City. When we were in Vermillion City I sent it to Lavender Town where it was redesigned to be more lightweight with half the bulk so I could carry it with me anywhere. We can use this to temporarily trade your Kadabra for one of my Pokémon so it will take orders from me willingly. At least in theory, if it's as mischievous as you claim. Once the trade is complete you and Chad head back down the tunnel so you'll stay healthy. Once Snorlax is gone you should see the light of day from the entrance. Because Sableye is partially a dark type the psychic waves shouldn't affect it so if Kadabra gets unruly Sableye can keep it from escaping when we're done. The machine is ready now, let's start the trade."

Kurishimi set Kadabra's poké ball on one side of the machine while Akuma did the same with one of his own; Dodrio's poké ball, she noticed. The poké balls glowed softly as the outlined images for each of the Pokémon within appeared on the display screen. The two images crossed paths over the other and continued off screen. When the glow faded from each poké ball Akuma picked up the white poké ball originally containing Dodrio while Kurishimi retrieved hers as well. Akuma didn't turn off the machine, but set it aside since it would be used again shortly.

Kurishimi and Chad requested a ten second head start before Akuma released Kadabra as they retreated down the tunnel led again by Vulpix's will-o-wisp. After ten seconds they heard the echoing sound of an opened poké ball from where they had come so they sat down to rest for a moment, not knowing how long it might take for Akuma to be in control before the work could start. It hadn't been more than a few seconds more before light quickly came streaming in on them from Akuma's position. After five more seconds of grace they rushed over to find Akuma resetting the machine with the fast ball already in position.

"By the way, Akashi, I forgot something about the trading sequence that I probably should have mentioned," Akuma said after the trade had begun. "There is a minor downside, but I think the positives outweigh it remarkably."

"In your opinion it does anyway. What happened?"

"Well a major bonus for you is that you don't have to worry about getting headaches anymore. The bad thing is that you missed the good happening which can be considered quite disappointing for most trainers. I would've brought it up if I remembered it was going to happen before the trade started, but I was surprised too."

"Stop it already and just tell me!" Kurishimi said hurriedly as she reached for the regular poké ball now that the trade was finished.

Akuma quickly snatched up her poké ball and tossed it away so it would open up. Instead of Kadabra, a different Pokémon appeared. The tail was gone in exchange for a more pronounced moustache and instead of one spoon the new Pokémon carried one in each hand. The head was also larger and the brown chest area had decreased in size to an equal degree while brown kneepads and bracers were added to the body as well.

"I forgot to mention that in a trading sequence Kadabra can evolve into Alakazam. That's why Snorlax was moved so quickly. Sorry you missed the moment."

Kurishimi eyed her fully evolved Pokémon with either disbelief or shock. Akuma couldn't tell which. She retrieved her poké ball from the floor before walking around her new Pokémon for inspection. Alakazam eyed her uncomfortably while she did so.

"So… for the first time now I have a Pokémon in its third stage? This is… wow! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" Enthusiastically she tackled her Pokémon in a hug while Alakazam went wide-eyed in shock. "I can't believe I've finally got one and it's super powerful too! I mean, I've heard that Alakazam are really smart, but they've also got this unmatchable psychic power in battle so they're really hard to beat and this is so cool!"

Chad raised an eyebrow at Kurishimi's bizarre attitude before slowly trying to sneak out the entrance of the cave. Akuma waited until the fangirl moment had passed before he picked up his own poké ball and started compacting the machine again.

"Okay, it is a good thing that Alakazam evolved, but this doesn't mean you can slack on your training either. New Pokémon, new battling styles, and a new relationship you know. You can't effectively use Alakazam in battle unless you train it carefully and practice together until you get back in synch with each other. As an Abra it couldn't battle and as Kadabra you couldn't practice together. You still have to learn how to work together from the beginning before either of you are ready for a field test, okay?"

Kurishimi was still giddy with excitement, but did hear what her teacher was saying. Although Alakazam was motionless it also seemed to be absorbing what Akuma told her. After the machine was put away and Kurishimi had stopped fawning over her unexpected surprise they finally left the cave system.

Outside they found that they hadn't left the canyon yet as the cliffs still towered overhead. Their travels were not fully useless however as they could smell the faint scent of pine trees on the wind indicating they were much closer to the forested area on their journey. They started to leave, but Kurishimi seemed fixated on the Snorlax which was now resting on its back.

Akuma let her look at the rotund behemoth for a moment before calling out for her to join them. She looked in their direction for a moment then back to the Snorlax as if something was on her mind. Still ignoring the pair she began searching her pokédex for information while Akuma and Chad waited.

"Do you think she's going to use Alakazam to wake it up so she can catch it?" Chad asked.

"That won't work. Snorlax are impossible to wake up naturally beyond the use of a pokeflute when in the middle of hibernation. I don't have a clue what she's doing or thinking right now."

After Kurishimi was satisfied she rejoined the duo on their walk through the canyon.

"What were you doing?" Akuma asked before Chad had the chance.

"Just… something I wanted to know. It's not important, don't worry about it."

Both Akuma and Chad were thinking that it wasn't quite so unimportant if she took as much time as she did, but it didn't seem as if she would say any more on the matter so they didn't press the issue any further.

Many hours later as the sky began to change colors with the coming sunset the trio finally came to the exit of the canyon walls. Before them the forest stretched out into a beautiful valley which they knew would lead them to Fuschia City. Chad turned around for one last look at the canyon where they had shared an eventful day together when something caught his eye. He quickly pulled out a small pair of binoculars from a pocket on the side of his jeans and focused on the cliffs where he'd seen a shine. Akuma and Kurishimi patiently waited until he was done searching the cliff face.

"What did you see?" Akuma asked him.

Chad shook his head. "I don't think it was what I saw actually. Just the sunset playing tricks on my eyes I suppose."

Satisfied with the answer they left the canyon behind to make camp at the edge of the forest.

_After all,_ Chad thought to himself, _Pidgey are always colored brown, not gold_.


	43. Everything Changes

As the trio set up a cozy campground in between the canyons and forest the day seemed to become more pleasant somehow. No questions were asked beyond friendly conversation or when assistance was needed with various chores. Kurishimi laid out three tents now since they managed to buy another after the eventful night they experienced last time they had camped out. Each trainer allowed all their Pokémon to enjoy the outdoors since it was a nice evening for the entire group to relax which was a rare moment in itself. Even Akuma seemed particularly calm as he prepared a group meal with Vulpix. Chad enjoyed his time getting to know some of Akuma's less popular team members like Misdreavus and Sableye while Dodrio kept an eye, or rather six eyes, on the group as a whole. The only Pokémon to not make an appearance was Chad's Gyarados since it seemed an unsuitable area for a water dweller to relax even though it could just as easily have joined the group if it so desired.

During dinner and for some time afterward the three trainers spoke for a while about various adventures and encounters they'd had before meeting up with each other. Akuma expressed his first encounter with a Feraligatr years ago which brought about a long time desire to raise a Totodile someday as well as interesting stories about his time spent in Sinnoh and Hoenn. Kurishimi had stories regarding her life as it was back in Celadon City, plus some of the time she'd spent with Akuma when she studied under him. A few inside jokes were brought up along with details which Akuma hastily interrupted for reasons Chad could only guess at. Though Chad was still a young trainer by age and didn't have many stories of his own he was able to talk about things he'd learned over the past months with a great deal of excitement. They were things both Akuma and Kurishimi had discovered a long time ago, but Chad's enthusiasm brought back many memories for the two as well.

As the sunlight began to fade the Pokémon started to fall asleep and were placed back inside their poké balls as they nodded off. Eventually the only ones still awake were Vaporeon, Vulpix, Dodrio (though two heads slept while one stayed awake), and Ivysaur. Two exceptions were Cleffa and Totodile who slept on Akuma's lap and at his side respectively instead of returning to the comfort of the poké ball. Since Akuma was without his usual selection of impressive looking Pokémon, his only two experienced members being Gastly and Dodrio, Kurishimi noticed he seemed very different tonight. Under normal circumstances he would have Charizard or Infernape with him at all times and he had even regained control of Magmortar recently too. Strong Pokémon at his side may have made him appear more threatening than she guessed because right now he appeared to her as any other normal trainer that they could have passed on their way to this area. Out of curiosity and with Akuma in a good mood, Kurishimi felt pressed to ask.

"So Akuma, why did you leave all your strongest Pokémon in Lavender? Even without Charizard you seem to usually bring Fearow so you have a flying Pokémon in emergencies."

"That's an easy question to answer. I was getting too spoiled with strong and convenient Pokémon so I brought some with me that aren't used to battling regularly. I could have brought Metagross or Infernape along, but if there was a battle to be fought I'd simply use them from the start or in reserve as a trump card and it would be a wasted opportunity in the end. If there is a battle to be fought on the road later I can put myself in a situation where I won't know whether I'll win or lose if I don't battle my hardest. It's also an insult to the person I battle when I intentionally outclass them from the beginning. By not bringing seasoned fighters I can learn how to battle in case of emergencies and those Pokémon I keep out of battle in favor of others can get experience naturally. This way both Pokémon and trainer can grow together."

"Since when do you care about giving friendly attention and growth?" Vaporeon muttered as she relaxed by the fire.

"Since when do you care about anything I say or think?" Akuma shot back.

Vaporeon kept back the shadow of a smile. "Well quipped, good sir."

Akuma ignored her and stroked the tuft of fur on Cleffa's head as he continued. "There is a bit of truth in what Vaporeon says however. I don't care one way or another about how my Pokémon grow or function as individuals. I focus on their battle strength as a team and for solo fights. I need to rediscover how they grow up on their own. For now I want to learn how their skills and talents evolve as Pokémon instead of members of my team. I'm not a battler right now. I'm a researcher and observer concerning the six most underdeveloped members of my team."

"Six?" Chad said in mild confusion. "Don't you mean seven?"

Akuma shifted his gaze to the side. "No, I'm observing six, not seven. Speaking of which, that's something else I'm going to do on my journey now. I've decided to train and master Shiner to become a member of my standard six Pokémon roster."

Kurishimi's eyes grew wide while Vaporeon jumped up in shock. "Please tell us you aren't serious," Vaporeon pleaded. "I saw it fight once before so I know it's too dangerous for even you to handle! Pokémon can sense the power of others and Shiner's power is the only Pokémon I've encountered that's too high for me to sense. I heard that you've got respect from Big Red now and that's impressive enough, but Shiner won't just hurt you. It'll kill you!"

Akuma stopped petting Cleffa's head and curled his hand into a tight fist. "I'm expecting that too, but there's no other way to beat Shinji. Before I saw him again at the power plant I've only fought three battles where I nearly died. I remember every one of them vividly each day as if they happened a few hours ago so I know better than anyone that it is impossible to beat him unless I have something more powerful than me on my side next time."

"Even then it won't be enough if it is as you say," Kurishimi joined in. "If that guy is stronger than all three of those times just having it fight for you won't be enough to win. If things get out of control I can't help you either because I'm obviously not strong enough in comparison."

"You are, but your Pokémon aren't."

"That's beside the point. Whichever one defeats the other you still have to deal with the one left over. No matter how much damage was done to either side your chance of success hardly moves up to slim! I know you can't beat Shiner so I know there's no way to give you any favorable outcome in the battle."

"I. Know. That," Akuma said through gritted teeth. "But I'm the one who has the best chance to beat him. The responsibility is entirely mine!"

"Just because you feel like he betrayed you by becoming someone you didn't think he was doesn't make it solely your responsibility to fight your old best friend!"

Akuma quickly stood up letting Cleffa roll onto the grass, still asleep. "How did you hear about that!?" He asked with barely controlled anger.

"I… um… oh…" Kurishimi grasped for the words, but she knew she was already in big trouble. Mr. Fuji had warned her about Akuma's temper regarding this person, whose name was apparently Shinji. He also specified that Akuma shouldn't discover what they knew about the man either. It was a truth that was off limits to everyone, including those closest to him. In saying what she said, Kurishimi had stepped so far out of line it wasn't possible to find her way back.

Akuma stepped closer to her, his rage at the boiling point. Vaporeon and Vulpix rose to their feet if they needed to defend their trainer while Chad and Ivysaur waited in fearful silence. "Where did you hear about that?" Akuma repeated.

"Fuji… Mr. Fuji mentioned it."

"How much?"

"That he watched over you and left Lavender Town to become a criminal while you were in Hoenn. I didn't know his name until now."

Akuma seemed to hold himself back with a fraction of whatever self-control he had managed to retain. His face was red with anger now; even from the glow of the fire it was evident. "Commit this to memory," he finally said as he aggressively pointed a finger at her, "He is _mine_ to deal with as _I_ see fit. He is my problem, my responsibility, and my future; no one else's. You keep your nose out of it all." He started to walk away from the fire when he realized Chad was still sitting quietly next to Ivysaur. "Both of you," Akuma added as he walked out into the darkness.

"We didn't deserve that," Kurishimi said to Chad after Akuma was gone.

Akuma kept walking until his eyes had adjusted to the now dark night and found he had wandered off to the forest border. Out of anger he punched a tree and hurt his hand. Realizing his temper had gotten the better of him again he sat down with his back to the tree and leaned forward with his head in his hands. Once again this was all Shinji's fault. Everything would always be his fault. Akuma was frustrated, angry, and hurting now. He tried to openly tell them what his plan was and they had rejected the idea. But there was no other way at this point. As far as he knew it was impossible to beat him otherwise. Shiner might not be enough for victory, but it was unquestionably the strongest single Pokémon any trainer alive was carrying right now. On the other hand he could try to capture a legendary Pokémon again, but it would take too long to find one that was both strong and capable. Frustrated with his broken progress Akuma called out Gastly to talk to. Being a ghost, Gastly didn't need to sleep quite as much as living Pokémon, but she would still sometimes do so if she wanted her spirit to feel refreshed.

"I'm done for, Gastly. I don't know what to do at this point." Akuma leaned back against the tree and stared up at the sky. "It seems like every time I make progress toward my goal I run into another problem. Of all the people I decide to set as my target I had to end up choosing the strongest. It's just impossible for me to beat him. Then when I come up with the only way to beat him for sure I decide to talk to them about it and they turn against me. They're right though. Even with the extra help I can't win. What do you think I should do?"

Being a ghost, Gastly was able to alter its appearance to take on the forms of different objects or creatures. It thought for a moment after Akuma had finished, then transformed into a simple doll of Kurishimi.

"No, I can't fight her. What kind of response is that?"

Gastly created another doll, this one appearing with a standard Team Rocket uniform, and started hitting the two dolls against each other as if they were fighting.

"Again, no I can't do that either. She's not strong enough to take my place."

Another doll appeared now; this one representing Akuma. The new doll hit the opposing doll like Kurishimi's had done, then both dolls hit it together and knocked it to the ground.

"You think I should have her fight with me?"

Gastly had the two dolls nod and shake hands.

"She's strong enough to defeat above average members, but what does that have to do with the problem?"

The enemy doll rose back up with a name tag on the chest now that said 'Boss'. The two friendly dolls struck it together and knocked it down again. After it fell the two bounced up and down in a comical dance of victory.

"No, that's out of the question. She couldn't make any difference in the outcome no matter how much we practice together."

Gastly adjusted Akuma's doll to be larger than Kurishimi's, then the girl began to slowly grow until it was just as large as its partner.

"I don't get it. You want her to grow up?"

Gastly repeated the process, but gave the two dolls a tag as well. Kurishimi's had the number three on it while Akuma's had a ten. As the smaller doll grew larger the number increased until the numbers and size matched.

"You're suggesting bringing her up to my level, right?"

The two dolls nodded and then hugged, which was strange to witness.

"I have no idea what you're suggesting, but I know I'm not going to like the idea whatever it might be," Akuma scoffed as he reclined against the tree more comfortably.

Gastly had Akuma's doll bow to the other, then the two shook hands and nodded at each other.

"Okay, I got it. You want us to make up, right?"

The dolls nodded and hugged each other again.

"I said I got the message. Stop making things creepier!"

The dolls shook their heads and put their arms around each other's shoulders.

"You've lost me again, Gastly."

Gastly had a heart float around between them which caused Akuma to panic.

"Oh no way, don't you even go there! She's hard enough to travel with as it is. I'm not causing any more problems by adding awkwardness!"

The two dolls laughed suddenly, in Gastly's haunting voice no less, and tilted their heads away from each other while the heart changed colors from pink to green.

Akuma sighed in relief as he finally got what Gastly was hinting at. "Don't scare me like that again. Fine, I'll see what I can do about getting that done. Even so, I don't think it'll help me to beat him in the end. Do you have anything else in mind?"

The dolls separated and took different poses of thinking, then each one had a red colored poké ball in hand that they raised up.

"I'm not having her learn how to use him too. Don't even joke about the idea."

Akuma's doll shook its head and vanished. In its place appeared a green and red creature with a mysterious appearance. Akuma was genuinely surprised and began to mull over Gastly's suggestion. Kurishimi's doll tilted its head as if waiting for Akuma's conclusion.

"I don't think so," he finally said. "It's a good idea and I'll keep it in mind, but I don't think she's ready to handle that Pokemon with her current skill level. We could give her special authorization for it of course and I'm sure we still have it somewhere in the vault, but it's not a good idea right now. Maybe if she gets stronger we can introduce them, but for now… no, definitely not. We'll see what happens."

The doll nodded again before Akuma's doll reappeared. The two pointed at him then back toward the distant campfire. They came together and hugged once more then seemed to shoo him off in that direction.

Akuma shook his head as if tired of his Pokémon's suggestion. "Fine then, I'll go do that now. I assume you're going to want to watch it for yourself, right?"

The dolls nodded and transformed back into Gastly before the Pokémon faded away with a smirk.

"Right, I'll try my best. You owe me though." Akuma said as he walked back to the others.

Kurishimi and Chad were still sitting uncomfortably by the fire when Akuma returned. Ivysaur and Vulpix were now gone and Cleffa had woken up in his absence. Neither trainer looked up to acknowledge him when he returned. Cleffa rushed over to him anxiously when she finally noticed he was coming back, but that was all the attention he seemed to deserve at this point. He knelt down and patted her head before giving her a magost berry to nibble on, then kept walking to stand by Kurishimi. Even then she never showed any recognition that he was there.

Knowing he was in trouble, Akuma took a slow and deep breath before he started speaking. "Stand up if you would please." Kurishimi didn't move. "Please rise, I wish to speak to you." Still there was no movement. "It's hard enough already to say this without you giving me the silent treatment, but please stand up so I can look you in the eye. I intend to apologize."

That seemed cause enough for Kurishimi to lift her head slightly. She looked over at Chad as the two exchanged silent words for a moment. Akuma waited for them to finish until she reluctantly stood up in front of him. She crossed her arms and made eye contact, but still said nothing. Akuma didn't catch anything in particular from her poker face, but she was evidently gritting her teeth while she waited. He figured that was the best he could have gotten at the moment from her so this would be the best time to set things right.

"I was in error when I said that the aforementioned situation was not any of your business. You know it affects me a great deal, that is evident to anyone, but I have not acknowledged the fact that it is relevant to you either. What affects me will in turn affect you in the end as well. When the emotions and mood of one person are altered between the two of us the other cannot remain unaffected and I have been choosing to ignore that fact up to this point. I will not stop my pursuit, but I could have been more considerate of you as I said so. You did not deserve to be attacked by me in the way you were and for that I apologize. I was in error, and I ask for your apology in an attitude of humility right now.

"I would also like to say something beyond that if you will permit me. For the majority of our time together I have regarded you as a learner who is accompanying me while I travel. While you may think otherwise of our relationship I must inform you that this will no longer be the case. It is with both hesitation and eagerness I must inform you that I no longer intend to travel with you with the sole purpose of training you. I have chosen, for whatever end it may bring to us, to accept your offer from a number of years ago that you once proposed to me. Because of my inexperience with such circumstances as well as having no such people with which I can attribute to this title I am hesitant to go through with the idea, but I feel it must be done now even if you will not agree with me at the moment for reasons which are obviously my fault to begin with. If this is the case, I will simply make the offer available to you, and you may or may not accept it on your own terms while I will not try to persuade you away from your choice at any given time no matter what it may be. Either way, I will still make the offer of my own free will to you." Akuma crossed his hand in front of his chest and bowed slightly as a servant would do to authority. "Let there be no secrets between us from this point on. I extend my friendship to you and wish to accept yours in return if it pleases you."

Akuma held his position for perhaps the longest ten seconds in his life. When there was no reply he stood up straight again to find Kurishimi unmoved from her position, but her body was trembling and her eyes shone by the firelight as tears fell to the ground. As he promised, Akuma did not look away from her. Kurishimi tilted her head down and sniffed as she rubbed her eyes. Akuma kept his silence and didn't move either. For whatever it meant, the moment was important to the both of them. Kurishimi had wanted him to call her a friend since they first started traveling together, but Akuma rejected her every time. Now in order for him to evolve as a person he had to risk allowing someone to fill the gap caused by the one he hunted and trust that she wouldn't betray him either.

Finally when it seemed Kurishimi had calmed herself down she stepped forward to give Akuma a cautious and friendly hug. "What you said… it hurt us both. He might not have anything to do with us, but whatever he did to you is hurting us too. I don't know if you're telling the truth, but … don't say anything like that again. Friends shouldn't hurt each other like that. This doesn't have to be so serious or life changing either. Just be our friend, okay? That's all you have to do is just be our friend."

Akuma sighed with relief as he attempted to return the hug, a gesture he'd never properly learned before, much less attempted, while Chad smiled at the two of them before he went into his tent to give them some privacy. Akuma guessed Kurishimi was trying to keep herself from crying or letting him see that she was doing so. Behind her on the ground two little dolls held hands as a green heart of friendship floated in the air between them. Akuma allowed himself to smile freely, another expression he still wasn't used to showing even though he'd been doing it more frequently recently, and because of this very person, he noticed. Even though he was glad to feel he had accepted her as a friend, he still felt bothered by something. He didn't know what, but he had a strong feeling it was something that should have been obvious and he knew it was something important as well.


	44. Exploring the Forest

In the morning the trio broke camp after a varied breakfast and headed into the forest. It was still quite early when they entered and the overhead foliage provided enough cover from the rising sun that they were able to spot some nocturnal creatures heading toward their nests while Pokémon most spotted in the mornings were either waking up or entering the forest. Along with the usual wildlife such as birds and vermin the entrance to the forest was populated with a number of bug and grass type Pokémon. Kurishimi took notice of an Oddish family burrowing into a patch of fresh soil for the day while Chad was fascinated by some ugly bug Pokémon called Pineco. Akuma kept his vision focused on the deeper part of the forest and one eye on the sky as they continued deeper into the woods. The trees weren't so thick that the neighborhood was shrouded in darkness, but the nice weather and inability to see the position of the sun had them quickly losing track of time.

Akuma was using a map and compass to navigate the forest since there were no roads or trails where they had entered. He said that as long as they continued in the proper direction toward Fuschia City they would eventually cross a mountain range from which they could see the city at the peak. With all the hills they seemed to have to climb on their way, Kurishimi assumed they could just keep heading to whichever seemed the tallest point until something was familiar if they got lost, but Akuma assured her that as long as they followed the map and didn't go too far off course they would have nothing to worry about.

Chad was ignoring the scenery and his companions' discussion for the time being. Since they had traveled into the forest there was a wide variety of new creatures for him to discover. Because of his studying of different species in the libraries at Lavender Town Chad recognized more Pokémon than he would have otherwise. He could spy some Venonat Pokémon and its evolution, the poison moth species Venomoth, hiding amongst the trees. Despite the purple coloration of the two against the green and brown colors of the treetops they were surprisingly well hidden. He could hear others running away from the traveling group in the undergrowth as well. At one point he caught sight of what was probably a Vileplume, the final evolution of Oddish and Gloom, scampering behind a tree in fear. Nocturnal species of birds called Noctowl were sleeping in the trees. Chad remembered that the species originated in, and had probably migrated from, the neighboring Johto region. Swarms of nesting Kakuna were scattered within the forest awaiting evolution while their mild-mannered counterparts, the timid Metapod, could be found tucked away in the base of some trees.

Even after he was sure he'd seen all the native creatures in this habitat, Chad was still entranced by how alive the forest was. He began to wonder if there were any humans living in seclusion within the miles of trees somewhere or if there were any mysteries or new Pokémon to be discovered in unexplored areas. At one point he thought he saw an out-of-place Geodude climbing a tree, but when he slowed down for a closer look it became a simple Mankey. Chad assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him and ignored the basic Pokémon as his eyes drifted elsewhere. If he had looked back a moment later however, he would have seen a Farfetch'd fly off from the same location where previously there had been none.

After climbing a hill Akuma sat down on a tree stump to rest his legs. Kurishimi and Chad found their own positions sitting on the fallen tree it had once held up. Kurishimi started picking out plant life that was clinging to her socks while Akuma double checked their position on the map.

"We're almost a third of the way through the forest I think," Akuma reported. "Judging by the sun's position, or as best I can figure without a flat horizon in any direction, it should be about midday."

"If time is a real issue I can always use my pokédex to check the time, you know," Kurishimi reminded him.

"Yes, but I'd prefer to watch the sun in this case. Since we have to travel by sunlight it's better to estimate the current time by how much longer we have before the sun disappears behind the terrain instead of the horizon. Since the sun looks to be about a third of way across the sky I'd say we're making pretty decent time as long as we stay on course and don't get distracted."

"So we can't stop if we want to catch any Pokémon?" Chad asked in disappointment.

Akuma thought for half a moment before the shadow of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. "Well I suppose we might allow ourselves some distractions here or there," he concluded.

Now that the group had caught their breath they started moving deeper into the forest again. When they went downhill Chad and Kurishimi would jump over or walk across fallen logs and when traveling uphill they would give each other a helping hand over the same obstacles. They lost sight of Akuma a few times, but a snapping twig or brief crash as Akuma landed somewhere would direct their eyes further ahead or behind them where he would come into sight again. They were even lucky enough to find a persim berry bush at one point with a handful of berries left on it. They didn't take many though since it was probably a feeding point for the wildlife, but there was still more than enough for them to restock on that particular type.

At one point going downhill when Akuma was ahead of them he held up a hand until the two trailing behind him stopped, at which point he pulled out a small spyglass from one of his outer pockets and focused it off to their right. When he had taken a moment to look at the neighboring hill he chuckled and asked his companions, "When is a tree not a tree?"

"Oh sweet Arceus, he's finally talking in riddles," Chad groaned. "When it's a log?"

"When it's a landmark?" Kurishimi guessed.

"I guess my question was incomplete. Actually it's a Sudowoodo."

"Okay, he's flipped. Send him to the Lavender Town funny farm," Chad declared.

"It's not gibberish, it's a Pokémon," Akuma corrected. "It camouflages itself as a tree by standing completely still. Step down here a little farther and you might be able to see it."

Chad nimbly vaulted off the small boulder he was standing on to land beside his teacher so he could look where the older man was pointing while Kurishimi opted to walk around them to search with her own eyes. He stared for a moment, but all he could see were trees on the hillside. "I'm missing it I think. What am I looking for?"

"A tree with a face on it."

"Be more specific."

"Halfway up the hill; it's standing too close to another tree. Has three green fingers that look like leaf clusters."

"Oh wait, there it is!" Chad said in excitement as he spotted the rare Pokémon. "Wow, that's pretty cool. Should we try to catch it?"

"No, let's leave it be. They aren't anything special to battle with and it's more productive to raise a Golem if you want a rock type Pokémon."

"It looks like a grass type to me."

"That's just its camouflage fooling you into fighting it with fire or flying type Pokémon. If you want to fight a Sudowoodo with an advantage you have to use water or grass types. It's good defense if the mimic fails, but if the other person knows the secret there's no advantage to be had in battle. Let's just keep going for now."

With that they left the tricky Pokémon for deeper territory. After sighting such a rare Pokémon Chad was even more excited about what other creatures were waiting to be discovered within the forest. Certainly they had all gained a boost in morale after taking a moment to just stop and observe the strange creature.

Some time after the sun had passed beyond what Akuma called midday he began leading them at a slower pace through the area. He seemed to have started looking or listening for something, but when asked about it he claimed to not know what it was either. Shortly after this the hills began to level out until they were walking on nearly level ground. It felt much more comfortable as far as their legs were concerned, but Akuma still seemed tense. After they scaled another hill they saw that there was only a single clearing before a very high hill. Akuma confirmed that this was the supposed mountain range beyond which they would sight Fuschia City. Kurishimi was anxious to arrive in the city where she would soon obtain her fifth gym badge, but Akuma held her back with a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be too hasty now. The forest has grown much tenser in atmosphere over the last few miles. There might be some danger if we go a little farther on; I'm sure that clearing is hiding something."

"The trees seem just as relaxed as all the other ones we've passed," Chad said jokingly.

"Not quite if you listen close enough. The Pokémon are pretty sparse in this area and the forest seems less alive because of it. The birds are muted and there is little to no movement as we explore now. We should be cautious between this point and Fuschia, okay?"

Kurishimi nodded. "You've got the instincts for trouble like that. I'll follow your lead. Chad, stay close, and put the pinecone down. It's better to have a poké ball for defense instead of that thing."

"Pinecones hurt more when you get hit with one though," Chad argued, but he still dropped the pinecone he'd picked up.

The three of them descended into the valley while their eyes darted between gaps in the trees whenever they saw any movement beyond a falling leaf. Even though they weren't aware of the reason for their cautiousness, they had all remembered the person they'd met on the road yesterday that had just vanished into thin air. Being without any strong Pokémon he was comfortable with, Akuma found himself to be even more nervous than usual. He was hoping he wouldn't have to rely on the others for protection if there was an emergency, but he also knew that part of being a friend was being able to rely on each other. Still, the idea didn't sit well with him. As they drew closer to the clearing they soon began to hear a distant voice. Akuma froze up for a moment as he listened, then brought the group closer to the source which was one of the few trees on the edge of the meadow. The voice seemed to be reciting Pokémon information from memory. Akuma motioned for the pair to stop moving as he looked around the tree to find a trainer reclining against the base and reading a Pokémon trainer's study book much like the one Chad had read in Saffron City before his testing day. When Akuma leaned in for a closer look the pine needles he was standing on snapped which startled the other person into leaping from his position.

"Who are… don't sneak up on me!" the person exclaimed. "Holy Shiftry, I nearly soiled my pants. What are you doing out here? Who are you?"

"We are travelers en route to Fuschia City," Akuma answered him. "Why are you so far out from town?"

"I couldn't study in the city because there's no time to rest while I'm there. I came out here so I could study in peace. My test for a trainer's license is in two days and I needed to make up for lost time."

"This isn't a good place to do it. You'd be safer studying in the city."

"There's no better place than out here though. And how would you know if you're just passing though anyway?"

"By experience and intuition I know something about this area is dangerous. There are no signs or sounds of Pokémon wildlife in a natural clearing such as this. The silence is unnatural so there is a real danger here somehow."

"I've been studying for a couple hours and haven't had any problems. Maybe the Pokémon just prefer the comfort of trees."

"Maybe so, but you should still get away from here. Find a safer place to study like an Onix nest. Even we aren't planning to stay here very long."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you the Elite Three or something?"

"The term you're looking for is the Elite Four, and no, but we're tough enough to manage on our own regardless and I don't like it here."

"Are you the guide for those two?"

"No, I'm their mentor and much tougher than anyone should have to be."

"You are traveling with a handicap right now though, Akuma," Kurishimi reminded him.

"Be that as it may I've been in trouble more than enough times to know when we should move on."

"Hey, I've got a better idea," the student said, changing the subject. "Let's have a battle out here in the clearing. "The danger will leave us alone if you're a bigger threat so I can just stay here and study. Plus I can practice for the practical exam."

"Or you can stop trying to get in over your head and leave while your Pokémon are still healthy," Akuma pressed. He was getting annoyed by this stranger's obliviousness and the sense of danger was still pressing strongly on the back of his mind.

"Hey Akuma, hold on," Chad cut in. "Wouldn't having a battle be a faster way to convince him to leave? Since you started traveling with a handicap you've wanted to find a battle somewhere and this is a good chance for you. If you win the match we'll drag him into town with us. If he wins, however unlikely that may seem, he can stay and put up with whatever's out here. That works, right?"

Akuma considered the options and the quick resolve appealed to him. "Cruel option for him if I lose, but experience will teach him to not be such an idiot I suppose. If he agrees to the idea I'll accept the terms for battle."

"If it means I can have a battle I'll accept any terms at any time! How many Pokémon can we use?"

"I'm available for a full battle of six or more Pokémon, but I want to get out of here as quickly as possible. Two on two should be suitable I think."

"More than six Pokémon? What are you… never mind, I'm sure I'll figure it out while I study. And I can use two Pokémon, sure. Are you ready?"

Akuma walked further out into the clearing, ignoring the babbling idiot who followed him. Kurishimi was thinking it would be a quick battle, but when she remembered how underdeveloped most of Akuma's Pokémon were it suddenly seemed less likely for him to make a clean sweep of his opponent. If he used Gastly and/or Dodrio the battle would be over quickly of course, but he gave himself such a handicap because he wanted lower odds for winning in the first place. Would the danger be enough for him to ignore the opportunity for training, or would he risk throwing the battle to keep them all in danger for a while longer? In any case, it seemed she would have to watch her superior fight a battle against an average lower class trainer and for once the outcome would be more of an unknown. Kurishimi knew it would be worth the danger to watch a tense fight such as this one.

Apparently Akuma already had both of his combatants in mind. He pulled off two poké balls from their locks, holding one in each hand. His opponent kept the traditional battle style: one poké ball in hand with spares securely fastened on the belt. Kurishimi counted three visible poké balls on this side of the belt plus the one in the trainer's hand. It could have been up to a four way battle and Akuma must have seen the chance. Weighing the unseen danger against the battle opportunity though, she'd have chosen the same rules if it was her on the battlefield.

Having been given the advantage of being able to choose any of his full team to fight, the idiot trainer, for lack of a name since it seemed to fit his obvious inexperience, revealed his choice of Pokémon first; a Growlithe. Akuma thought for half a moment before opening the basic poké ball in his left hand, choosing to have his first official battle with Totodile. Each trainer took a moment to size up the other's Pokémon while allowing their opponent to do the same. Idiot trainer took the initiative, commanding Growlithe to use a fire fang attack. Something suddenly seemed to catch Akuma's attention, but he was able to order Totodile to leap over the attacker. The jump was commanded early enough that Totodile bounced insultingly off Growlithe's back as it landed. Growlithe somersaulted forward until it came to a rest a few feet in front of Akuma. Kurishimi caught Akuma studying Growlithe intently and informed Chad of what she was noticing. As they studied Akuma's thinking process through his eyes they wished more and more that they could hear the analyzing his brain was up to. This would be a strange battle on one end; that was for sure now.

Totodile rushed Growlithe on command with a scratch attack. Growlithe tried to evade, but the claws caught its side. While Totodile was still up close, Growlithe fired a tight ember attack in its opponent's face. Totodile backed up a step before Akuma commanded it to use water gun. Surprisingly Totodile launched a powerful blast of water through Growlithe's oncoming embers and into its face. Akuma grinned victoriously as the attack was executed perfectly. It seemed the specialist doctor he had requested was able to cure Totodile's imperfect water gun attack. Growlithe's next attack was not of fire, but of simplicity. A bite attack at Totodile's chest cut off the water gun while Totodile flailed helplessly. Quickly Akuma ordered his Pokémon to grab Growlithe's jaws and pry them apart if possible. Totodile was able to successfully do so, but the puppy Pokémon's jaws were too strong for such stubby arms to fight against. Akuma's eyes swept over the deadlocked pair instantly while he searched for an escape point as Growlithe turned its bite attack into another fire fang. Suddenly he found an out for his Pokémon, and it was fortunate that he was using this particular creature in this battle or he could not have pulled it off.

"Totodile, aim straight up. Fire a low velocity snot bubble attack!"

Kurishimi snorted in trying to hold back her laughter as Totodile launched a glob of water straight up into the air which came back down to splash over Growlithe's face. The surprise attack loosened Growlithe's grip just enough for Totodile to retaliate with an actual attack of its own. The water Pokémon struggled against the fangs of its opponent until it managed to clamp its jaws around the puppy's ear in a powerful bite. Growlithe yelped in fear and shock before jumping around the grassy plains trying to shake its opponent off. It was in vain however, since Totodile were known to never release their grip on anything if they didn't want to. It was also a damaging case though, as Totodile's chosen grip on such a loose part of Growlithe's body caused it to be tossed around through the air violently. Akuma was about to tell Totodile to release its grip when his Pokémon suddenly and surprisingly flew into the air. When it landed, Totodile shook its head and swatted at its mouth, hacking and spitting until something came out. Akuma came over to investigate the object immediately and quickly became disgusted.

"Okay that is just… oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't think Totodile's grip was that strong!"

Idiot trainer rushed over to his Growlithe who was rolling around on the ground and whimpering painfully. His jaw dropped in shock and his face paled when he saw what damage had been done.

"His ear!" he exclaimed. "Totodile ripped off my Growlithe's ear!"

"Akashi, get over here!" Akuma called out. Kurishimi ran over at full speed having heard what happened. "Do you have Chansey?"

"No, you saw all my Pokémon in camp yesterday."

"Right, I forgot. Okay, call out Vaporeon. Use its cooling waters to soothe Growlithe's wound. If there's no way we can heal it we have to do what we can for its health.

Kurishimi quickly did so and even tried to reattach the ear to Growlithe's head with Vaporeon's ice beam, but it soon became apparent that the damage done would be permanent. Growlithe's trainer continued to panic the whole time, but when he began to calm down his hysteria shifted into anger directed at Akuma and Totodile.

"You did this to my Growlithe, Hunter! I'll kill you for that!" With that he grabbed another poké ball and summoned a Golbat to attack Akuma.

Akuma grabbed Totodile instantly and leapt out of the way as a slicing gust of wind shredded the grass where they had been standing. Now Akuma's expression had changed from sympathetic to determination as the last piece to the puzzle fell into place.

"I knew something was wrong here. Akashi, Chad, battle positions! Leave the Growlithe and prepare for an attack. We're targets of an ambush!"

Chad had already brought out Pidgeotto and Ivysaur when he saw the Golbat appear. He'd figured it out seconds after Akuma and knew they were in trouble right away. First a high level Growlithe had fought with a Golbat waiting in the wings. This was no amateur trainer Akuma was facing; it was a member of Team Rocket and one he knew personally. Niklos, the enemy he had faced during his capture of Wooper. And where there was one Rocket, there would be more to come soon.

They were correct, but their enemies were not Rockets as they had predicted. When Niklos called for support a legion of bandits poured from the forest ahead. It seemed even Team Rocket had to hire help from time to time too; even more so when Akuma was an enemy. Kurishimi quickly finished off Growlithe with Vaporeon's water gun, now battle ready, then used her Magnemite to paralyze one of the charging bandits from a distance before retreating to Akuma's location.

While they were preparing for battle Akuma was fending off the attack from Golbat. With Totodile still at a low level he had less of a chance to win than Chad did before entering Saffron City. Quickly he opened the second poké ball in hand causing Golbat's pressing attack to be briefly halted by Sableye's fake out attack. After attacking with night shade Sableye was aided by Pidgeotto's quick attack and together they struck Golbat enough times to ground the annoying enemy. As Kurishimi joined them and the bandits approached their location Niklos brought out a Sudowoodo. Chad offered to fight the deceptive rock Pokémon himself while Akuma and Kurishimi faced the approaching army. His fight with this enemy had been interrupted once before anyway and now it was time to show everyone his new power in battle. With the approaching bandits preparing poké balls of their own and Akuma fighting at half strength it was guaranteed to be a long and very difficult battle for everyone.


	45. Chad VS Niklos

With Akuma and Kurishimi gone to fight the approaching bandits it was now Chad alone facing off against Niklos. Considering his full team of six Pokémon and Niklos having lost two to Akuma's Pokémon a moment ago, the battle seemed to be in Chad's favor from the beginning. In contrast to that, his opponent was a criminal and there was no guarantee he would play by the rules either. Niklos also had much more time and experience in battles than Chad which would probably be more significant in the long run. The only advantage Chad knew that he had was the knowledge and training he'd acquired in Lavender Town plus what he had learned from Akuma's battle style. This fight could go either way and might even change depending on what would happen where Akuma and Kurishimi were fighting. Reinforcements could come for either side at any time so the best option for both of them would be to end the battle as quickly as possible to better assist their allies. However it was unclear whether Niklos was thinking the same thing. His outrage at what had happened to Growlithe was still apparent and possibly impairing his judgment.

"Sudowoodo, use your sucker punch attack!"

"Pidgeotto, show me your twister attack!"

Before Chad's Pokémon could create the dragon type attack, Sudowoodo dashed in and punched the bird Pokémon much faster than Chad expected it could move. Pidgeotto struggled to regain its control in the air before responding to its trainer's attack command by whipping up a strong gust storm that caused Sudowoodo to hold its ground in endurance. Before they were opened to attack again, Chad had his Pokémon climb into the sky and out of reach from Sudowoodo's arms. While his opponent was out of reach, Niklos commanded Sudowoodo to use block. Chad felt the poké ball in his hand shudder as it was sealed shut to prevent Pidgeotto from escaping until one of the two combatants fainted. With the high type disadvantage it seemed like Sudowoodo would probably win the match now, but Chad knew better than to give up this early.

"Pidgeotto, shower it with your featherdance!"

Pidgeotto flew in circles above the battlefield causing feathers to rain down over Sudowoodo. The effect would be a severe reduction in attack power, but even with the support moves Chad and Pidgeotto were still outclassed.

"Sudowoodo, use an inverted rock slide to ground Pidgeotto."

Sudowoodo pulled at the ground until huge rocks flew up into the air and smashed into Pidgeotto. Chad's Pokémon plummeted toward the ground, unable to keep airborne after the impact. When it had fallen far enough, Sudowoodo leapt into the air and struck Pidgeotto with a vicious hammer arm attack that smashed the helpless bird into the ground. Chad didn't need to check whether Pidgeotto could continue battling and instantly returned it to the safety of its poké ball.

To counter the deceptive rock type Pokémon Chad ordered Ivysaur to battle next. Ivysaur launched a whirling razor leaf attack from the plants on its back while Sudowoodo used a heavy rock throw attack. Ivysaur's leaves sliced the rock into smaller pieces and continued past to strike Sudowoodo. The mimic Pokémon was crippled by the leaf barrage, but was still able to fight. On command from Niklos, Sudowoodo raised an arm into the air and fiercely struck the ground in front of it for a rock tomb attack. Ivysaur was struck from underneath as sharp jagged rocks shot out of the ground into its belly. Ivysaur's speed was also crippled as the attack struck its sensitive underbelly, but could easily continue fighting. Before it could notice, Sudowoodo quickly found itself under assault by Ivysaur's vine whip attack. The rock Pokémon tried to swat the vines away, but one managed to grab the knob on its head and lifted Sudowoodo high into the air. Unable to manipulate the rock elements for defense, Sudowoodo was held immobile in the air as Ivysaur once again fired a razor leaf barrage until it had fainted.

Niklos became even more enraged when his Pokémon was defeated in a flawless manner not unlike an execution. Chad noticed his uncertainty before another fighter was chosen which caused him to wonder how difficult it was to counter his Pokémon's type, or whether Niklos was simply unprepared for battle. When Niklos revealed his next Pokémon however, Chad assumed it was probably the latter.

"Vileplume, cast a cloud of stun spores!"

"Ivysaur, cut through it with a blast of your razor leaf!"

From the interior of the flower on Vileplume's head a thick cloud of yellow pollen erupted toward Ivysaur who was already launching his own thick blast of bladed foliage into the mix. Most of the paralyzing storm was dispelled by the razor leaf flurry and the remainder was easily avoided as Ivysaur moved to the side. Vileplume was not as lucky. Since its own attack was not intended to cause damage none of the leaves were halted until they began to cut into their target. Partway into the attack Vileplume dropped its head forward so the soft yet thick petals absorbed the attack, but there was still a minimal effect. Now taking an aggressive stance, Vileplume's petals contracted as it spewed a corrosive acid at the more animalistic grass type Pokémon. The acid destroyed the remaining razor leaves which had not struck the target yet and found an unprepared Ivysaur to take the sudden retaliation. Ivysaur's eyes burned as the acid struck it in the face leaving it partially blinded. Chad cried out to his Pokémon as another stun spore attack followed. Like before Ivysaur tried to defend with razor leaf, but being unable to properly aim the attack proved to be a vain attempt as the spores covered Ivysaur's body, putting it in a paralyzed status. The formerly difficult matchup had shifted in favor of Vileplume as Ivysaur desperately tried to find a target by lashing its vine whip across the battlefield. Vileplume retaliated this time with a move called 'natural gift' as ordered by Niklos. Vileplume tossed a small red berry into its flower and focused its energy until an orb of swirling red energy came out to hover above the gaping hole in the center. With one more burst of energy, Vileplume willed the orb to be launched at Ivysaur and the damage done was critical as flames licked out from the energy that washed over Chad's Pokémon. After such a brutal combination of attacks Chad's Pokémon collapsed in defeat.

Chad swallowed the heavy lump in his throat as Ivysaur disappeared into the poké ball it had just recently come out of. He'd been fighting defensively against an opponent who was best at aggressive fighting. In fact it seemed more like a brutal assault than a Pokémon battle since this wasn't a sporting match and criminals didn't play by the rules; especially one who was fueled by anger just as he had predicted. Vileplume seemed to be able to fight defensively on its own as it hadn't moved at all since it had appeared to do battle, and despite this there was a surprising amount of aggressive attacks to deal with too. Without a clear tactic available to him, Chad decided to fight with a wild card.

"Rattata, to the battlefield!" he declared.

The rat Pokémon appeared with a flash of crimson light, spinning through the air before landing in a threatening fighting stance with a hiss. Chad wasn't sure where the flashy entrance had come from, but had to think about that after the battle was ended.

"Vileplume, surround yourself with a cloud of sleep powder!"

Vileplume spun in a pirouette as a green gas enveloped its body and began spreading outward. The cloud settled into a halo shape around the flower Pokémon's body preventing Rattata from getting too close, and since Rattata was a close range attacker it would be knocked to sleep before it could land a successful attack on the opponent.

"Oh Muk farts," Chad swore under his breath. "This isn't going to be an easy fight at all. Rattata, do you think you're ready for a field test of those moves we learned in Lavender Town?" Rattata responded with a confident nod while Chad took a reassuring breath as he reviewed the three moves they'd been working on. They'd worked on some strong strategies in the simulator for the moves they had learned from the move tutors, but this was a real battle test now. He was sure they could get Vileplume to pull off one attack he wanted to counter, but after expending all three special moves he didn't know what he would do next just yet. "Let's get to work then, Rattata. We'll start with double team!"

Rattata began to charge at Vileplume as it split into multiple copies before running in a wide circle around its opponent, making sure to stay well out of reach from the cloud between them. Vileplume responded by spraying a fountain of stun spores outside the cloud into Rattata's path. The rat Pokémon's copies jumped away from the cloud in unison as if part of a dance leaving the spores to fall pathetically to the ground. Rattata's copies jumped back and forth over the stun spores and between the differing spores while still running in a circle around Vileplume as if taunting the wasted effort. In anger Niklos commanded his Pokémon to fire an acid spray at the rats. Chad quickly ordered a mimic from his own Pokémon to acquire the attack for their own use as Rattata bounded out of reach from the venomous poison. When the acid attack had ceased, Chad instructed Rattata to use the final attack he had planned: dig.

Each Rattata copy jumped between the grounded stun spores and the sleeping powder to burrow underground, but only one hole formed as the real Rattata dug under the earth and the copies merely vanished into the dirt. Vileplume braced itself for Rattata to come up from the ground under its feet, but instead the rat Pokémon appeared from between the two spore traps at a different location and burrowed underground in the same way until there was a middle ring of holes surrounding Vileplume. Neither Pokémon nor trainer was sure about what looked like a strategic plan until Vileplume's acid attack spewed out from the holes and over the cloud. Being unable to move due to the triple layered trap surrounding it, Vileplume could only take the acid attack in full force.

"Great job, Rattata! Now do what we practiced against the Starmie simulator. Hyper dig attack!" Chad was pumping his arms in the air and nearly dancing as he said this last line with a huge smile on his face.

Rattata's double teams erupted from every hole surrounding Vileplume with a shriek, rising above the sleep inducing gases as they leapt into the air. In a panic Niklos commanded Vileplume to use a wide acid spray to hit all the attackers at once, but the poisonous attack passed through every one as none of them were real. Before the opponent could realize what had happened, the ground under Vileplume broke open as Rattata leapt out at the Vileplume which had left its underside completely unguarded to focus on the aerial copies. Rattata's hyper fang attack latched onto the point between Vileplume's body and petals while the flower Pokémon was distracted and scored an easy critical hit. In a panic, Vileplume flailed around in a futile attempt to shake Rattata off until it ran through the sleep powder cloud, breaking the mist so Rattata wasn't affected. Being a grass type, Vileplume was immune to the gases, but not the holes Rattata had made surrounding them as one foot fell into the holes causing it to trip and fall face-first into the grounded stun spore which it was also not immune to while Rattata kept a grip safely on its back. Another hyper fang finished off the grass Pokémon allowing Rattata to strike a victory pose on top of its opponent's back which, of course, only served to further fuel Niklos' anger by insult.

"Quit screwing with me and my Pokémon!" Niklos yelled as he replaced Vileplume with another fighter. The next attacker was a brown Pokémon wearing a purple outfit with red boxing gloves. Though thin it seemed agile and powerful too. "Hitmonchan, beat that vermin into oblivion!"

Hitmonchan leapt over the stun spore cloud and crashed into Rattata's position fist first. The impact dissipated the sleep powder in a blast of air, but Rattata's tunnel system had weakened the ground enough to cause it to collapse under the two combatant's feet. While Rattata had dug underground to avoid the punch, Chad was suddenly afraid that his Pokémon had been buried alive.

"Rattata, get out of the ground now if you can! Let me know you're okay."

Rattata quickly appeared from under Hitmonchan and latched onto the enemy's leg with a hyper fang attack. Chad allowed himself to breathe a heavy sigh of relief right before Hitmonchan used a mega punch to knock Rattata away. Chad's Pokémon bounced luckily over the remaining stun spores that lingered on the ground, but Niklos wouldn't give them a moment to recover. Hitmonchan was quick to follow Rattata with another mega punch to crush the smaller Pokémon into the ground and didn't pause before fighting back again with a comet punch flurry. Unbelievably Chad's Rattata was able to endure the brutal assault and managed to stand up enough to rush out and bite Hitmonchan's leg again with another hyper fang. Hitmonchan was caught off guard and fell to one knee. The lower altitude allowed Rattata to attack the enemy's arm this time, but Chad noticed his Pokémon was quickly growing weaker. It might have been an adrenaline rush that allowed Rattata to escape earlier meaning it was about to pass out from exhaustion alone if Hitmonchan didn't get a solid hit in soon.

"Rattata, get back! You're too weak to keep fighting now. Let someone else take over," Chad called out.

Rattata ignored its trainer and continued to bite into Hitmonchan as best it could until the larger Pokémon smashed his fist into its side, causing Rattata to collapse to the ground. Chad was sure his Pokémon was finished this time, but Rattata got up once more. Chad couldn't believe his Pokémon's limitless stamina. Even Nidorino would have fallen by now. Wait, maybe this was a sign that Rattata was…

"Rattata, I get it now. Use that burst of energy and you can-" Rattata's body suddenly flashed with a bright glow. "-evolve!"

Rattata's formerly limber and athletic body morphed into a huskier, stronger build and rose up on its hind legs which turned into hind feet as the lower legs all but vanished into the fur. Its whiskers grew out longer and the incisor teeth grew wickedly huge. Instead of purple fur, the former Rattata's body was now a bright tan and the curled tail became a furless ugly whip. When the transformation finished, Chad's brand new Raticate growled threateningly at the opposition while Hitmonchan rethought the moves it had been using until now in battle. It was now two fully evolved Pokémon in the fight, but Chad's side had taken major damage prior to the evolution. If he could get a few more hits in it was possible that Hitmonchan could be dropped at the same time as Raticate. His Pokémon probably didn't know its own power yet so they had a chance, however slim it might have been.

Niklos' voice broke Chad out of his thoughts. "Doesn't matter if the Pokémon evolved or not, Hitmonchan. Beat it to a pulp! Get in close with your mach punch!"

Hitmonchan sped toward Raticate at an incredible speed and drove his gloved fist right between Raticate's eyes. Raticate started to drop, but grabbed Hitmonchan's right arm with one of its newly developed forepaws and sunk another hyper fang deep into Hitmonchan's shoulder. Chad could hear a loud crack as the fighting Pokémon's shoulder blade snapped in two. It was confirmed now that Raticate didn't know its own power yet. Despite his Pokémon being crippled, Niklos continued to give orders as if nothing happened while Chad was forced to play the defensive side.

"Use an ice punch to slow Raticate down!"

"Raticate, toss Hitmonchan away!"

An ice punch from Hitmonchan's remaining arm brushed across Raticate's belly before the punching Pokémon was tossed away and chilled some of the fur so ice crystals formed, causing Raticate's torso to glimmer. If the punch had made full contact Chad assumed half of his Pokémon would have been frozen solid. Hitmonchan landed noiselessly on the ground and rushed back to counter attack with a blazing fire punch as ordered by Niklos. Raticate performed a clumsy backflip so its tail whip snapped Hitmonchan's face and botched the aim of the fire punch. Hitmonchan fell to one knee again, giving Raticate the perfect opening to grab his head in another hyper fang attack, though this one was more subdued so as to not crush his skull. Chad thought they were about to win when Raticate was punched high into the air by a sky uppercut. This time when his Pokémon landed there were no more reserves of energy left to use. Raticate had fainted.

"This could be going better," Chad said to himself. He and his opponent were now down to two Pokémon each. Then again, considering the condition of his current enemy maybe he only had to fight one and a half Pokémon. Sadly he wanted to save his trump card until last, but if he did he was unsure as to whether he could win and he still needed to go help Akuma and Kurishimi who were currently very outmatched. Akuma was fighting with only three or four Pokémon at this point; he couldn't get an exact count. Kurishimi's Alakazam had just dropped as well and Vaporeon seemed to be targeted by the majority of the enemies. "Might as well pull out all the stops I suppose," Chad said to himself as he opened poké ball number five.

What started as a small flash of light quickly grew in size as Gyarados appeared with a loud roar in front of a Hitmonchan that was now making a face suggesting it had soiled its outfit. When Niklos yelled for Hitmonchan to strike the atrocious Pokémon with a thunderpunch, Chad was ready to counter with a twister attack. Though Hitmonchan leaped toward its opponent with a dangerous electric attack, Gyarados used the force of the twister to throw Hitmonchan back to the ground helplessly. After that Hitmonchan was too weak to stand up on its own, but Niklos still demanded it to rise. In pity for the Pokémon, but not the trainer, Chad told Gyarados to slap Hitmonchan back to Niklos with its tail. Niklos was knocked to the ground while his Pokémon went unconscious.

For Niklos that was the final insult. He threw his last poké ball to the ground so hard a crack appeared in the underside, but it opened anyway. Chad had been hopeful for an easy win, but fate had a cruel sense of humor today when he saw that his last enemy was an electric type. It looked like a fox or a wolf that had taken a bath with an electric toaster as its fur was yellow and pointed up at many angles. Just like its trainer it was quite angry and barked threateningly at the larger Pokémon as if there was nothing to be afraid of. Gyarados was unimpressed and roared back powerfully as thunderclouds gathered overhead and a downpour started without warning.

"Gyarados, dragon rage!"

"Jolteon, thunderbolt now!"

The two attacks collided in the air and canceled each other out.

"Thunderbolt again!"

"Gyarados, tail slap the ground as hard as you can!"

The electric attack was launched too quickly for Gyarados to do anything more than follow its trainer's orders. Dirt and rocks flew through the air and intercepted the thunderbolt attack while providing Gyarados with temporary cover. Following that there was a twister attack that Jolteon was unable to evade due to being unable to locate the attacker. The wind from Gyarados' attack caught up some of the dirt and rocks before they fell to the ground which further pelted Jolteon when the attack hit for additional damage.

"Use your pin missile attack!"

Jolteon's fur spiked up and launched a flurry of needles toward Gyarados with perfect accuracy now that the veil of sand had fallen. Gyarados endured the attack until it was about to end, then released another dragon rage blast which Jolteon was unable to avoid. The damage done was apparent, but nowhere near enough to bring the electric Pokémon down. Chad commanded another twister attack which Jolteon evaded. Following that, Gyarados was struck with a well placed thunderbolt that did severe damage. Before they could recover, Jolteon also used a thunder wave that paralyzed the mighty dragon. Chad realized his Gyarados couldn't take much more of the attacks and tried to have it use dragon rage again. The attack succeeded, but took much longer to pull off. Jolteon countered with a thunderbolt that pierced the now underpowered attack and struck its target. Gyarados roared in defiance, but couldn't take the extreme damage and collapsed to the ground unable to fight back any longer

Chad wasn't expecting to win that battle, but neither was he expecting to lose so quickly either. With reluctance he replaced Gyarados with his last Pokémon: Sandshrew. Niklos didn't seem to know how he should feel when he saw the short and lazy mouse Pokémon. His face seemed to contort between great anger as well as amusement. Both trainers knew there was a strong type advantage for Sandshrew, but after watching Jolteon defeat Gyarados there didn't seem to be much point in continuing this fight.

Jolteon didn't wait for its trainer to give it a command before hitting Sandshrew with a quick thunderbolt which naturally had no effect on the ground type Pokémon. Sandshrew, with its eyes half closed, seemed to be bored and unwilling to battle as it picked it nose with indifference. Jolteon now seemed to be angrier than its trainer and fired a slew of high-speed pin missiles at Sandshrew. The mouse Pokémon didn't even flinch as it used a defense curl so the spines bounced off its back. When the attack ceased it uncurled with the same look of resolute boredom on its face and yawned. Jolteon instantly used a quick attack to charge the little insult while Sandshrew watched it coming, apparently still feeling unthreatened. When Jolteon was close enough Sandshrew caught it off guard by striking up under its chin with a scratch attack. The quick slap attack threw off Jolteon's aim, causing it to sail over the tiny creature and land ungracefully in the dirt. Without even turning around to see what had happened, Sandshrew sat down unceremoniously in the grass and started picking at the ground while Chad looked on with an open mouth. Jolteon quickly rose to its feet to charge at Sandshrew with another quick attack. It jumped over Sandshrew's back to land in front of it and used a double kick with its hind legs intending to strike Sandshrew's face. But Sandshrew simply laid back in the grass while the double kick sailed over its head. While Jolteon was thrown off balance, Sandshrew ripped a scratch attack across its belly. Jolteon rolled away and whined in pain while curled up on the ground. Sandshrew didn't pay it any mind while nibbling on a blade of grass it had recently picked. Jolteon quickly rose to its feet and collapsed just as fast. It seemed Sandshrew had struck a sensitive part on its body precisely enough that it couldn't stand up straight. While lying in the grass Jolteon fired another pin missile attack, but Sandshrew just rolled over so the attack bounced off its back harmlessly.

Even in his rage Niklos could tell Jolteon couldn't fight anymore and recalled it. Then to Chad's surprise, he sent out Vileplume again! He ordered it to use mega drain on Sandshrew, but Vileplume was still unconscious. He replaced Vileplume with Golbat, telling it to take down the bratty mouse Pokémon, but Golbat hadn't recovered yet either. Sudowoodo was still crippled as well, and Hitmonchan… was completely useless in its current state. At least he wasn't angry enough to think about sending out Growlithe, whose damage was the cause of his outrage to begin with, Chad noticed.

Chad sighed in relief, knowing he'd beaten his opponent fairly, but he was still confused about Sandshrew's abilities. The little creature hadn't even taken orders from him and had managed to win while he looked on in disbelief the entire time. Was his Pokémon hiding powerful battle skills, or was it just lazy and lucky? He'd have to get a skill analysis when they got to a Pokémon Center next. He was just about to recall Sandshrew when he heard a monstrous roar that chilled him to the bone. Even Sandshrew sat up quicker than he'd ever seen it move and scampered over to its trainer in fear. Chad was frozen with fear at the moment so Sandshrew let itself back into its poké ball on its own. Niklos seemed to freeze up as well from the carnal sound; his anger forgotten.

Both trainers looked toward where Akuma and Kurishimi had gone and saw a huge green monster with burnt orange colored wings shaped like axe heads destroying Pokémon left and right. No Pokémon or trainer was attempting to fight back. Every living thing was either running away or getting torn apart. In fact none had escaped the destruction yet.

"What is… is that a Pokémon?" Chad asked in horror.


	46. Outmatched

"So what's your plan?" Kurishimi asked Akuma as they left Chad to his battle while rushing out to face the larger army.

"I get one half of our fans, you take the other."

Kurishimi shook her head. "Oh no no, that's bad planning. You're at half battle strength if that while my Pokémon team got a recent power upgrade. If anything you can only handle a third of them at best."

"While I would normally enjoy watching you eat your own words, I did promise to be honest and open from now on. With that said: shut up. I'm still strong enough to beat half of them before you come close to catching up with me."

"Cranky, cranky you are!" Kurishimi said almost mockingly. "Seriously though, what are your plans for dealing with this problem?" She threw out Vulpix's poké ball ahead of her and had her Pokémon use a confuse ray to stun the two fastest bandits that had closed in on them.

"Let's see, we're getting ambushed by a mob of bandits, the kid is facing a strong undercover member of Team Rocket, and I'm fighting at minimal battle strength. I actually had time to plan for all this in advance."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Of course not you idiot! I have to make this all up as I go!"

Vulpix used a faint attack to knock out one of the confused bandits before he could recover and open one of his poké balls. Akuma took out the other with a punch to the jaw as they passed then grabbed a couple poké balls of his own while the rest of the bandits closed the distance.

"Misdreavus, Dodrio, prepare to fight!"

"Magnemite, come back out and help!" Kurishimi announced.

From the moment Dodrio appeared there was a fierce fight already in its eyes – all three pairs. Misdreavus, lacking in extensive battle experience, was less confident about the odds. Having a confident battle partner and trainer gave it some reassurance, but not by much. Magnemite, being mostly made of steel, was unable to show expression while Vulpix shared Dodrio's combat tempered fierceness as Kurishimi tried not to show signs of nervousness.

Each of the bandits released a single Pokémon of their own, and since it wasn't an official battle the odds were drastically against them. Even though three bandits had been previously crippled there were still fourteen enemies remaining. Also with that many Pokémon in opposition the small army was quickly able to surround the duo and their fighters. Their first opponents were three Muk, a larger and smellier evolved version of Grimer, two Weezing – Koffing's evolved form, Mankey, Primeape, Farfetch'd, two Staryu, a fire type slug made of lava appropriately named Slugma, one Beedrill, and an upside-down Pokémon that spun on its head like a top. Fortunately their opponents were not experienced enough to use more than one Pokémon each, but that certainly didn't help their chances.

"Akuma, what Pokémon is that one?" Kurishimi quickly asked before the enemy could attack.

Akuma glanced over his shoulder briefly. "It's a Hitmontop. Brother evolution to Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. It'll use its tail for its special attack, triple kick. It isn't naturally balanced so avoid close combat and keep your distance for as long as possible. Don't divide your attention from the other threats though."

Forgetting that Akuma had his back to her now, Kurishimi still nodded instinctively before commanding her Vulpix to use a flamethrower on the closest Muk. The toxic waste within Muk's body quickly caught up the flames leaving a nasty burn in the center of its body.

Dodrio positioned its heads in the shape of a triangle as the heads gathered up energy. The energy blast was then fired at the Mankey who was knocked over and inflicted with paralysis. The remnants of the tri attack continued past the small fighting type to hit its counterpart, Primeape, doing very minor splash damage.

Misdreavus used its shock wave attack to hit the Farfetch'd and both Staryu for significant damage. The spare trails of electricity licked at the ground in front of Slugma who used a flamethrower attack to fight back which Vulpix quickly intercepted with its own body, absorbing the fire attack and increasing its own power as well.

After emitting an ear-grinding metal sound attack, Magnemite began to shoot sonicboom pulses to keep the enemy from getting too close. One of the Muk tried attacking Magnemite with a sludge attack, but the poisonous waste had no effect on Magnemite's steel body.

From there the battle quickly escalated. The first attacks were simply to test the waters because now every Pokémon attacked the smaller group at once. Fire, water, poison, punches, kicks, and needles came into the group all at once. Misdreavus vanished instantly to avoid being caught in the middle. Akuma realized Dodrio's size would be too much of a hindrance and returned it to the poké ball as he dove under a Beedrill and threw a blue poké ball outside the ring when everybody's attention was distracted. Vulpix again ran through Slugma's flames, but was soon struck by a mega punch attack from Primeape. Kurishimi was panicked into running in Hitmontop's direction which had begun to spin toward her with increasing speed as its legs and tail threatened to beat the fight out of her. Magnemite had avoided the majority of the damage by mimicking Vulpix's strategy of ignoring the attacks which could not hurt it. With five poison type attacks sailing through the air out of fourteen the threat was diminished by just that much, but Magnemite could still not help its trainer avoid Hitmontop's attacks. Fortunately one of the Beedrill crashed into Magnemite's steel body which knocked it out. The magnet Pokémon didn't even notice until it saw the bug type crumpled on the ground beneath it.

Kurishimi took the force of two hits from Hitmontop's attack in her stomach and one in her chest which caused her to fall to her knees as Hitmontop passed her by to look for another enemy. She didn't have time to catch her breath as she realized the Slugma and one Farfetch'd were right in front of her now and about to attack. Acting only by trainer's instinct she snatched Vaporeon's poké ball from her belt for defense and opened it as Slugma began to blast a flamethrower toward her. Vaporeon took the flamethrower without flinching as she shot the Farfetch'd with a point-blank aurora beam. When the duck dropped Vaporeon slapped it away with her tail as she turned to blast Slugma with a water gun, but not before using mimic to copy the flamethrower attack for her own use.

"Kurishimi, are you alright?" Vaporeon asked quickly. Kurishimi could only nod as the kicks seemed to have done more damage than she had first thought. The strike to her chest had also knocked the wind out of her. "Stand up quickly before they target you to pick off one of the trainers. We need Alakazam's psychic power to help us now!"

Kurishimi nodded again as she blindly grabbed for Alakazam's poké ball. When the psychic powerhouse appeared the battle started to shift in their favor. Using its mental abilites, Alakazam grabbed Hitmontop and flung it toward Akuma's direction into a large brown monster of a Pokémon whose trainer had just replaced the fallen Beedrill with. Following that it took out both Weezing as well as the remaining Muk with psybeam attacks (in the confusion Kurishimi realized the other two had vanished when she wasn't looking). Alakazam then redirected an incoming water gun attack from a Staryu into a nearby Charmeleon before knocking the former out with two more psybeams. Kurishimi rose to her feet after catching her breath just as a Farfetch'd struck her in the back with its leek.

As Gastly's poké ball sailed away from his hand Akuma somersaulted past a Muk that had tried to crush him with its huge hand. He leaped behind the foul smelling creature and opened up Sableye's poké ball when he had the chance before moving on to the partner Muk beside it. For this one he opened Dodrio's poké ball again allowing it to appear above the toxic creature and come down hard on top of it. Dodrio then assaulted Muk with a triple drill peck until the creature sank underneath it. Dodrio then moved on to assist Sableye in defeating the first Muk while Akuma searched for his ghost Pokémon. He found Misdreavus torturing a Beedrill with a continuous shock wave attack while Gastly was mocking a Staryu whose health was being drained by a curse attack until it fainted.

Replacing the injured with new Pokémon, the bandits now gave optional targets in the forms of a Charmeleon, Charmander, Kangaskhan, Ivysaur, and another Mankey. Akuma had lost track of Akashi and her Pokémon in the confusion and didn't have the luxury of looking for her, but he did spot Vulpix and Magnemite working together to take down the Primeape from before. As he was trying to decide his next move the Hitmontop from before came flying through the air and crashed into Kangaskhan, knocking the beast down but not enough to take them both out. He looked around and spotted Akashi's Alakazam protecting her from a water gun that was redirected into Charmeleon as well. Behind her Vaporeon felled a Raticate with a quick attack. It seemed Alakazam had been clearing the field of the remaining enemies they had started out against with ease.

"Totodile, we're going to war," Akuma stated as he opened the plain poké ball in his hand. "Fire your water gun at the Charmander and Charmeleon. Run away from enemy attacks until you can get a clear shot if necessary."

As he finished the command Akuma felt Dodrio approach his side protectively and heard Sableye's impish laughter from atop Dodrio's back. Seeing it had backup, Totodile began to spray the fire Pokémon it had been ordered to with a water gun. Hitmontop quickly rose to its feet, or rather the drill point on its head, and spun toward Akuma's group at full speed, hitting Charmelon's tail briefly as it closed the distance. Sableye took the initiative before Akuma could decide who could best handle the approaching threat. Sableye first disabled Hitmontop's balance by firing a night shade at the ground and then attacked with a close range fury swipes. Hitmontop switched position to stand on its feet for a moment to hit Sableye with a pursuit strike, but the damage done was minimal and Hitmontop finally dropped. Charmander fell soon after as Totodile's water gun struck it at full force. The Ivysaur then assaulted the group with a barrage of razor leaves which the team was unprepared to counter. At Akuma's command Dodrio protected the group with its own body while using a triple fury attack to keep some of the leaves away. Akuma was nearly out of ideas, so in desperation he brought out Cleffa to help them.

"Cleffa, I need you to help us. Take aim at Ivysaur and use your metronome attack. We can't get close without taking major damage."

Cleffa was unsure of her assignment, but did as requested. She waved her fingers back and forth to find a specific energy attack she could use properly. Totodile began to assist Dodrio by using water gun to counter the dangerous razor leaf attack to buy them more time. Before Cleffa had finished, Akuma saw Hitmontop get replaced for a Venomoth and wished all the more for Charizard's poké ball then. Finally Cleffa's fingers stopped shining and began to unleash an energy blast. Dodrio quickly moved out of the way, but Totodile was not as observant and Akuma had to grab his tail to pull him out of the way before an arcing wave of electricity ripped by them. The electric blast burnt the incoming leaves and continued on target until it struck Ivysaur. Akuma watched carefully, intending to know to what degree damage was done. Ivysaur did not appear to have taken any damage in fact, but electricity arced across its body sporadically which crippled its movements. Akuma concluded the attack must have been a thunder wave, so Ivysaur was now paralyzed and the leaf barrage had temporarily stopped as well. Dodrio took advantage of the moment to fire another tri attack into the enemy ranks. The blast struck Charmeleon, finally knocking it out as well.

While Akuma was still thinking of his next attack, Gastly rushed through the enemy group at high speed with a corporeal scream. Akuma noticed she quickly weakened after passing the group, meaning another curse attack may have been used. He knew his guess was correct since Gastly was almost completely exhausted from the side effects upon reaching him. As Totodile fired a water gun and Sableye attacked with night shade he pulled out a stronger potion than usual to heal Gastly's fatigue. The effects were not complete sadly, though he wasn't expecting it to be enough in the first place. He also couldn't spot who the unlucky target had been yet either, but he trusted Gastly to have chosen a good victim. Elsewhere he saw Misdreavus mercilessly assaulting a Machoke that might have been heading toward Akashi's group with a furious psybeam barrage. After it fainted and a replacement Nidoqueen appeared, Misdreavus quickly healed itself while draining the opponent's health with pain split. Out of sight Akuma could hear Kurishimi's Pokémon fighting also unseen opponents, but he heard a Growlithe and what might have been a Shellder in the chaotic sounds. Chad was still impossible to check on and too far away to accurately catch any sounds of battle.

Before Akuma could give new battle commands, Totodile was struck with a powerful thunderbolt attack which knocked it out. The aggressor was a Raichu that he could only assume had replaced the Charmeleon from earlier. Returning Totodile to the poké ball, Akuma ordered Gastly to use a full strength shadow ball attack on the Raichu. The attack was successful, but Kangaskhan blocked the attack and took no damage from the ghost type attack. Akuma saw that Kangaskhan's movements were labored and deduced that it had been the target of Gastly's curse attack. Sableye fired its night shade at Venomoth, but Kangaskhan blocked that one as well. Cleffa tried to help the group with another metronome, but the resulting move this time was a rain dance which caused the clouds to darken the sunset orange sky and begin pouring rain. Quickly becoming drenched in water, Akuma was less than unhappy but left Cleffa out to keep fighting anyway.

Fortunately the rain saved him and his Pokémon when a hydro pump attack came out of nowhere and crashed into Kangaskhan by surprise. Akuma risked a glance to the side and saw Vaporeon breathing heavily. He realized Vaporeon must have just learned the attack and saved his group with it. Unfortunately Raichu was also able to take advantage of the heavy rain and cast a devastating thunder attack onto Vaporeon which critically wounded it. Without Kangaskhan to absorb the ghost attacks, Akuma quickly called for Gastly's shadow ball and Sableye's night shade while Dodrio rushed in to use fury attack on the Raichu. Venomoth attempted to push Dodrio away with a psybeam, but was countered with a triple drill peck that it couldn't withstand and fainted quickly. Raichu was also unable to endure attacks from three Pokémon at once and soon began to collapse, but unleashed a wicked thunderbolt before fainting which crippled Dodrio enough to be defeated by Kangaskhan's substitute fighter, which was a Graveler, as well as another Farfetch'd from somewhere else. Cleffa used metronome again and quickly took out the Graveler with an incredibly lucky bubblebeam attack, but Akuma had lost two of his battlers at this point and Cleffa was only good for supporting the front line fighters. Fortunately Misdreavus had just dropped the Nidoqueen so he called her over to help him out. As Misdreavus flew through the enemy group she let out a quick shock wave attack that struck all the opponents and gave her an eerie appearance for a moment too. The heavy downpour didn't hurt the visual appeal either.

Now fighting with only Gastly, Sableye, Misdreavus, and to a lesser degree, Cleffa, Akuma was beginning to regret his former claims that he could defeat more of the enemy than Kurishimi could. His idea was further supported when a Rhydon took the place of Kangaskhan and a Kingler appeared to replace Venomoth. Misdreavus quickly attempted to weaken the Kingler with a shock wave, but the electric attack was redirected to Rhydon's horn by use of the lightning rod ability it possessed which also canceled out the damage. Unless Akashi defeated her enemies quickly and came over to help, it didn't seem likely that Akuma would come out of this battle with his Pokémon in favorable health conditions. He even heard the roar of Chad's Gyarados from somewhere far off and hoped support would come from that direction soon.

Night shade attacks from his three ghost Pokémon struck different targets while Cleffa's metronome made it use fake tears. Strangely, Rhydon didn't seem to mind the rainfall which made Akuma worry even more. He'd heard that some Rhydon were able to overcome their fear of water for much stronger efficiency in battles, but this might have been the first one he'd seen. Even worse, his Pokémon had become exhausted from the constant battling and were close to their limit. Even Misdreavus who was using pain split in a desperate attempt to stay healthy was getting noticeably weaker. The enemy endured the triple attacks long enough for the Kingler to disorient Sableye with a mud shot attack. Right after that the Farfetch'd used an air cutter to finish it off bringing Akuma's remaining stock fighters down to half. Akuma hadn't even finished recalling Sableye before the Rhydon used a stone edge attack which the ghosts evaded… but Cleffa did not. Akuma's baby Pokémon was ruined by the powerful rock attack with a crash that Akuma was too in shock to hear.

He rushed over to cradle the tiny Pokémon in his arms and found out that its health was critically low. He quickly fed Cleffa an oran berry before he placed it back in the poké ball to keep its health stable until he could reach a Pokémon Center. Meanwhile his Misdreavus was firing rapid shadow balls at enemies that were also targeted by Gastly with a dark pulse attack. Occasionally a confuse ray or hypnosis was used, but the effort was wasted when the applicable trainers switched out the troubled Pokémon with a fresh new fighter. As his ghosts took damage from attacks they were unable to avoid, Akuma soon realized how this battle would end. Misdreavus was the next to fall when a massive Steelix struck her with a dragonbreath attack. The only one protecting Akuma at this point was Gastly, and after one more attack she would be knocked out as well. He looked over at Akashi's group, but she was battling at minimum strength at this point. Her only fighters were an equally exhausted Vaporeon and a surprisingly resilient Pinsir.

Akuma was fully aware of what might happen to them if they were at the mercy of a bandit gang led by a Team Rocket member. They were not as thorough or predictable as the criminal element, but could be even more dangerous in their unpredictability as well. He needed to do the unthinkable for them to have the greatest chance at survival.

"Stop, that's enough!" he called out. Gastly and the enemy Pokémon halted their attacked and looked back to the single trainer. "We're finished," Akuma announced. He fed Gastly a sitrus berry from his pouch and returned it to his poké ball. Some of the enemy bandits smiled in victory when they saw a look of resignation on Akuma's face, but his next words didn't fit the apparent situation. "You should surrender and leave while you still can." Every one of the bandits and their Pokémon laughed at the apparent bluff, but Akuma simply waited for them to stop before speaking again. "If even one of you insists on continuing the fight I can't guarantee the safety of anyone in the area from here on out." As he said these lines he reached into his vest and pulled out the forbidden cherish ball. A few bandits and Pokémon looked worried for a moment, but the high group morale shifted them away from the safest option so that only one bandit and his Pokémon withdrew into the forest when the others weren't looking. Akuma still waited until the enemy began to move in to subdue him before bracing himself for what was about to happen. "In that case, you leave me no choice." With the Rhydon less than six feet away he steeled himself for the nightmare that was to come and once again released the greatest terro he'd ever seen into the world.

Kurishimi was being guarded by her Pinsir while she used her last hyper potion to heal Vaporeon's wounds. Pinsir struck down a Kingler with its guillotine attack right before being paralyzed by a stun spore from a nearby Weepinbell. Vaporeon blasted the grass Pokémon with its copied flamethrower attack while Kurishimi recalled her Pinsir, having no way to heal it of the crippling status effect. Alakazam had been defeated long ago by a trio of Murkrow and Magnemite was under the effects of sleep at the moment too. She needed Akuma or Chad to assist her soon, but she could hear that Chad was still in battle and when she had last seen Akuma his Pokémon were dropping faster than she thought possible. Vaporeon had established herself as Kurishimi's most versatile Pokémon after learning a handful of abilities from the move tutors at Lavender Town and was quickly recognized as the biggest threat by every enemy. Being revived to full health again caused her aggressors to back off a little bit out of caution.

"Can you keep fighting, Vaporeon?" Kurishimi asked.

"I'd rather not, but it seems I have to anyway, don't I?"

"I'm really sorry about this. If I had some full heal medicine available you'd get help, but-"

"I know, hon, don't apologize. I'm fighting to protect you, not because you asked me to."

"That still doesn't make it any more…"

Kurishimi stopped talking when she realized Akuma's battle sounds had completely stopped. She looked over and saw him addressing the opposition calmly. None of his Pokémon remained. She couldn't tell if he was trying to negotiate or surrender from this distance. He seemed to be holding something in his hand so it was most likely he was bartering an escape route, but when a Rhydon began to close in on him a flash of beautiful rainbow light came from his hand. The colors arched and twisted in a beautiful display, but before the lights finished she realized what he had done and her face paled.

From out of the rainbow flash came a wicked creature as if the beauty prior to its appearance was an apology for the horror that was about to be unleashed upon them. When it had fully emerged there was a lingering sparkle in the air that briefly trailed from the body of the beast. When the colors and shine faded she knew there was no longer any visual appeal to be had.

The monster crashed into Rhydon as it screamed a feral roar and tore into it with two powerful attacks before slashing it with its powerful claws which sent the rock Pokémon falling limply to the ground. With no hesitation or mercy it rushed forward into the enemy Pokémon and proceeded to treat them in much the same way. There was nothing awesome about this kind of power. It was all just sick, wicked carnage.

"Akuma… what have you done?" was all Kurishimi could whisper in disbelief.


	47. The Seventh Pokemon

_Author's note: While I understand the set limitations in the Pokémon games, anime, and other media sources, it's never made sense to me that any Pokémon should only be able to know four moves at any given time. In my opinion, if a Pokémon learns a move, they have no logical reason to forget that move as they continue to learn others. This might have been shown in previous chapters, but I wanted to be clear on where I stand on this before the chapter starts._

Akuma didn't try to stop it this time, but it wouldn't have changed things if he wanted to try either. Before the light from the Pokémon's release had stopped, Shiner was already fighting. A glittering light swirled around its body after the flash ended for a brief moment, but Rhydon lay crumpled on the ground before the lights disappeared. The monstrous creature changed its target instantly to Steelix and dropped the iron snake Pokémon just as quickly with a fire blast attack. As quickly as the next target was selected it was defeated with little effort and Shiner seemed to have so many available attacks that there was no chance of it tiring any time in the near future.

Before a Raichu could strike it with a thunderbolt it was knocked away with an iron tail then slashed in midair, nearly ripping it in two. Golem tried to endure the attacks but fell to two steel wings. Before a Muk had fully emerged from its poké ball Shiner had hit it with zen headbutt. A Pidgeot came from Kurishimi's direction to give backup, but fell under a rock tomb. A pathetic attempt at stopping Shiner with an ice beam from Jynx was ended when the user was hit with a crunch attack. While a Seel was an unexpected and random choice for a counter it was nothing against a thunder fang. A Dragonair even appeared, but dragon claw crushed it immediately. Crobat, Golduck, Arcanine, Machoke, Electrode, Persian, Scyther, Wigglytuff, and many others were crippled one by one while Akuma looked on until Kurishimi made her way over to him.

"What were you thinking?!" she yelled at him, but Akuma didn't reply. "After the bandits are all gone or dead it'll come after us next!"

"I know," Akuma admitted in a sad voice.

"You _know_ it'll kill us and you let it out anyway?"

"It won't kill you, Akashi; or Chad."

"Why not? Nothing's stopping it from trying to kill everything else right now."

"It won't kill you because you won't be here."

Kurishimi's reply was drowned out when Shiner roared again. "How do you figure?" she asked again when able.

"I want you to take Chad and run away from here with him deep into the forest. Shiner can't kill you if it can't find you."

"Not a chance, you idiot. I saw you losing all your Pokémon when you were fighting before. You've got less battle strength than I do right now."

"I've got two things in my advantage this time though." Akuma began to place revival medicine into his poké balls while he talked. Shiner had almost completely decimated the remaining fighters at this point while the bandits were running away as they pointlessly sacrificed their Pokémon as cannon fodder to aid in their retreat. "Right now I'm carrying four gym badges and Shiner's poké ball. That means I am its trainer and I've got the authority so it has to listen to me now."

"That's assuming you can get close enough to hit it with the poké ball beam before it kills you."

"It's worth trying over having it kill you. Besides that it doesn't look back after beating an enemy so it can't help but have a blind spot. I know how it fights, how it moves, and what it will do next. No one else in Kanto knows how to survive a battle with it except me. I chose for this to happen, and I'm going to be the one who makes it go away. Take Chad and run away from here."

"No."

"What?"

"No, we're not running away. Friends don't abandon each other at times like these."

"Akashi, I appreciate the gesture, but there's no point in dying just to prove you believe in our friendship. Besides, I'm trying to protect you both. Isn't that something friends do for each other too?"

"Exactly, there's no point in dying for someone else when you can avoid it, but you're trying to do the same thing right now too."

"I agree," Chad said, suddenly appearing behind them. "And I get the idea that we'll be protecting you too by helping out. Besides that, you can't force us to run away if we don't want to either."

Akuma shook his head as he handed Kurishimi a full heal then smiled slightly in acceptance. "If it sees you, it'll kill you."

Kurishimi felt the care in his voice weigh heavily within her chest but nodded with determination. "I know it will." Chad probably hadn't any experience with death at his age beyond what had happened to Ariados, but he voiced his agreement as well.

Akuma checked on Shiner one more time before they went out to meet it. Still in a rampage, Shiner was attacking the forest now as well as any living thing that emerged. Every enemy had either fallen to the ground in its wake or evacuated the area. He didn't want to think about whether any had been eaten. The trio had still been ignored since they were in the blind spot to the rear. Now was the best chance to take it by surprise.

Akuma handed his companions a pair of revives each. "These are my last ones. Don't just choose who you want to fight with, but who you think can survive. We won't get out of this one otherwise."

Kurishimi had already cured Pinsir with the full heal medicine by now and began to administer healing to others, but Chad hesitated.

"Hey Akuma, which of my Pokémon has the best chance of beating that… thing?"

"In all honesty, Chad?"

"… yes?"

"If all your Pokémon work together to fight it, they'll all die."

Chad's face paled and he seemed to shrink at the thought. "All of them?"

"All of them," Akuma repeated grimly. Reluctantly Chad placed a revive into one of his poké balls as Akuma had done before. "It's not too late to run away you know."

"I know," Chad whispered. His reply was barely audible over the ongoing destruction. "But I'm still going to help you anyway."

Akuma took a breath then started walking into the flames; a great ball in one hand and the cherish ball in the other. "Just get me close enough to return it to the poké ball and we can stop it. I doubt it will listen to me when I have four gym badges anyway."

Kurishimi held a poké ball against her chest and said a silent prayer then walked beside Akuma, fully prepared for the worst to happen. Chad didn't move as he watched the emerald monster continue its path of destruction. Finally he closed his eyes tightly and ran past his teacher. Akuma and Kurishimi increased their speed as well. There was literally a mountain's worth of distance before the nightmare arrived in Fuchsia City. Even then at the rate it was progressing, that much time wasn't enough to stop it, and only three trainers were able to do so at this point. For a moment, Akuma thought that the rain suddenly seemed appropriate for the situation they were in.

Kurishimi was the first to throw a poké ball. "Use disable then restrict its movements with psychic!" Alakazam canceled Shiner's flamethrower then attempted to pull it away from the forest with its powers. Strangely the huge dragon was almost unaffected by the psychic hold. It ceased its forward movements, but with a flap of its wings it moved backward and landed right in front of Alakazam. One hit from a mighty dragon claw attack ended Alakazam's attempts for a peaceful solution.

Before it could turn on Kurishimi, Chad's Gyarados charged into it from the side and latched onto its neck with an ice fang. For a moment that attack seemed to do the trick. Shiner was unable to turn its head for many of its attacks and its forelegs were too short to reach Gyarados' body. Shiner thrashed around attempting to get itself free while Gyarados wrapped its serpentine body tightly around the dragon. With a sudden burst of energy, Shiner's wings broke out of the bind via steel wing and it flew into the air. Gyarados sunk its teeth deeper into Shiner's neck, but the two dragons continued to soar into the air. After reaching a sufficient height the pair went into a dive right for Kurishimi. The poor girl tried to run, but they were descending too fast and Shiner even increased the danger by firing a dragonbreath attack in her direction. Before the attack could hit her, Akuma's Dodrio swept her up by using its agility move. The long range dragon attack washed over the terrain just before the deadlocked dragons crashed into the earth and scattered the flames upon impact. The energy of the dragonbreath attack continued to linger over the area and set the ground on fire with red flames mixed among the green. Shiner and Gyarados faced the other on either side of the flames since the impact had knocked the latter away. Gyarados seemed winded but still able to battle, the first Pokémon that night who had survived Shiner's attacks, while the enemy appeared just as strong as ever. Shiner threatened Gyarados with a beastly roar which the atrocious sea serpent was quick to answer. Each beast attacked the other with a brutal dragon rage attack, but Akuma's bane was already prepared for the next attack. As the dragon attacks canceled each other out in a blast of energy Shiner leapt through the surge of power and slashed the front of Gyarados with a dragon claw attack. Gyarados roared in pain and quickly used a bite attack on its opponent's neck again, but fainted unconscious immediately after.

The victor roared in triumph as Gyarados disappeared in a flash of red, and began to search for the girl that had escaped earlier. As it leapt through the flames in search of more victims the return beam of a poké ball passed through the area where it had been a moment before. Shiner was oblivious to the unseen opponent and whipped around in search of Kurishimi. Suddenly in front of its head a face took shape and screamed in a ghostly voice. The dragon attempted to hit Gastly with a fire blast, but the ghost Pokémon faded away quickly after putting a curse on the much larger Pokémon. Suddenly Shiner felt its health quickly drop and sensed a presence from below. It spun around quickly while raking its belly across the ground, but Misdreavus had already used pain split and escaped. Angry at being played with, the dragon flew into the air as the return beam passed underneath once again. After reaching a suitable height it looked over the ruined landscape until it spotted Dodrio at a distance with Kurishimi still on his back. Shiner dove toward the pair with a furious cry as multiple night shade attacks struck it from underneath. The ghosts were ignored as the dragon rapidly gained speed in its descent.

Before it had closed the distance halfway, Dodrio split into five with double team and ran off in five directions. The mighty dragon was not deterred from its target however and released a hidden power at three of the copies. All four fakes vanished when the real one was hit and fell to the ground. No time was wasted as Shiner quickly closed in on them and landed on the ground before the pair. As it came down on them with a thunder fang intending to kill, a return beam shot in front of its eyes – another miss, but the great dragon recoiled in surprise. Akuma's Pokémon looked to the left and saw its unofficial trainer standing before it with a defiant look. To Kurishimi's surprise, it did not attack right away which allowed Akuma to speak to it directly.

"That is enough out of you, Salamence! Stop this destruction at once!"

The mighty green dragon roared back, clearly not in agreement. In its blind spot neither Akuma nor Shiner saw Chad creeping closer, and Kurishimi was too paralyzed with fear to notice as well.

Akuma pointed a finger aggressively at the murderous Pokémon that had nearly killed him multiple times over. "This rampage of yours is over! From now on you will listen to me!" Salamence lowered its head to the ground and roared in protest as a flash of lightning illuminated the dangerous duo. "You are acting outside the laws of nature. I can not allow you to continue what you are doing anymore. Return to your cherish ball and be calmed, Shiner!"

Quickly Akuma held out the poké ball and attempted to strike his Pokémon with the capture beam. Salamence slid out of the way smoothly and began to charge Akuma with a double-edge attack. Akuma tried to evade, but Shiner was much too fast for him to do so. The mighty beast roared as it was about to crush the body of its trainer as well as the poké ball that prevented its freedom when a heavy weight landed on its back and smashed it to the ground.

Salamence attempted to face the unexpected threat when its head was forced into the mud from Gyarados' ice fang pressing into its neck. Just after Chad recalled his Pokémon he had used the second revive Akuma had passed him to bring back Gyarados for one last round. With the atrocious Pokémon now pinning it to the ground by taking advantage of the moment of surprise, Shiner was too shocked to retaliate immediately. Akuma stared at the sight for a moment. He knew he would have died had Chad not been there to save him. After realizing what had happened, Salamence began to attempt to throw Gyarados off by spreading its wings as it had done the first time. Before it had a chance of doing so however, Akuma fired the return beam once again and this time it struck Salamence in the chest. The mighty dragon resisted the poké ball, but eventually succumbed to the beam and was sucked back into its prison.

Distant thunder sounded as Cleffa's rain dance began to wear off and the clouds slowly parted. Gyarados hadn't taken any damage this time, but still lay on the ground in exhaustion from having three heavy battles in a row without a chance to rest. Kurishimi had already fainted from sheer terror. Chad was still staring at the spot where Salamence had just been. Akuma stood still while breathing heavily then dropped the cherish ball to the ground, unable to even hold the spherical prison in his hand because his body was so exhausted. Gastly, Misdreavus, and Dodrio came over to their trainer with worry in their eyes. Sableye appeared soon after; carrying Akuma's poké balls on their straps over its shoulder.

Akuma allowed a long sigh and fell to his knees. "Got you," was all he could say before he passed out on the ground again.

Chad stumbled over to his Gyarados with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked. Gyarados grumbled a positive reply so Chad sat down with his back against what passed as Gyarados's torso. "There's no way it could have been that easy. All we did was try to hit it with a poké ball beam and that nearly killed us all. Sapadense, or whatever Akuma called that thing, was strong enough to keep battling even after all we did to it. Pokémon also have to be weak before you can catch them in a poké ball. Whatever Akuma and the hunters did to capture it… I can't imagine it. That must be the power of dragon Pokémon. No wonder Akuma is afraid of them. Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you're tired. You can rest now, Gyarados; return." Gyarados vanished into its poké ball and Chad fell back onto the ground. "Actually the ground feels pretty soft here. I think I might…"

While Chad slept, Akuma's ghost trio kept an eye on the group to make sure everyone stayed safe. Now they all knew what the most dangerous Pokémon among them was and everyone in the group feared it equally with good reason.


	48. The Fuchsia Gym Challenge

Chad sat up suddenly with a cry of surprise as he woke. He found himself covered with a thick blanket and a damp washcloth fell from his forehead. He was currently wearing his underclothes which were soaked with sweat from the nightmare's effects. He took a moment to breathe as the fear faded into the recesses of his memory, no longer at the front of his mind. When he caught his breath he looked up to find that he was no longer in the forest which had been bathed in destruction, but an unfamiliar wooden house of simple design with a tatami floor mat layout on which he was currently resting. He sensed movement beside him and looked over to see a young lady wearing a stylish yet seemingly ceremonial form of dress. She had been startled by his sudden awakening as well, but was already showing a friendly smile.

"Good morning, young master. I trust you are feeling healthy once more?"

Chad touched a hand to his chest and felt that this was indeed real and he was in perfect health surprisingly. "I… yes, I am. What happened? No wait, where am I?"

The lady bowed from her position of kneeling with her legs under her body. "You are among the recovery rooms in the house of Koga. You and your two comrades were brought here yesterday by a team of Pokémon Rangers who were investigating a disturbance in the area."

"That's… good to hear I guess. You said there were only three people who were rescued in the area though."

"That is correct. Were there others in your group that you believe were left out there as well that should be searched for?"

Chad thought back to the events of the day before. After seeing Soapy Rinse, or whatever Akuma's dragon Pokémon was called, Niklos had recalled all his Pokémon and run off into the forest away from the destruction. He hadn't seen the other enemies escape or run clearly enough to know what had happened to them, but he assumed, hoped, that they had escaped anyway. "No, there were only two people I was traveling with."

"Ah, that is good news. I fear if there were any others in the area they might not have survived the events that took place last night. Forgive me for asking you to recall such a horrific event, but might I inquire as to what creature or machine caused such destruction?"

Chad figured that Akuma didn't want anyone to know what the cause behind the devastation was if they didn't need to know, so he feigned ignorance. "I'm sorry. I… don't think I can remember to be honest."

"Of course, it is not important after all I suppose. My apologies for asking you about it."

"Oh, uh, there's no need to apologize really. But how are the others? You said they were rescued too, right? Are they okay?"

"Yes, young master. They awoke some time ago. We were afraid that because of your young age you might take longer to do the same, but it is good to see that you are healthy now. When you feel physically prepared to do so you may walk around freely as you wish. Good day."

The lady rose from her kneeling position and left the room. She had an air of gracefulness similar to that of Erika, Chad noticed. He shook his head to wake himself up the rest of the way and pulled himself up from the bed. After redressing he found that his regular clothes were torn up slightly since the journey from Lavender Town had been so harsh. He might have to replace them soon. Either way it was all he had to wear so he dressed himself in his now ragged attire and left the room to look around the building.

He found that the building was built as an old style Japanese mansion. He had stepped out into a large outdoor courtyard at the center of the building which contained various shrubbery and large rocks. Chad felt as if he'd stumbled upon an old fashioned martial arts dojo.

"I see you're awake now," said a voice to his side. Chad looked over to see Akuma standing beside the door as if he'd been waiting for him to come out. "I assume you've been told you can walk around the compound on your own free will, but it can be easy to get lost in this place. You'd better stick close to me while you're here. There's someone I want you meet."

Chad followed Akuma down the length of the porch, leading them around the outside of the wide open garden. A couple of times Chad thought he heard or saw movement in the greenery, but when he looked again there was nothing. Akuma eventually stopped in front of a sliding door and slid it open. Inside the room was a battlefield where Kurishimi stood in the center, shaking hands with a man who was probably in his late fifties.

"That was a very satisfying battle, Miss Akashi," the man was saying. "It was a fine battle for me to retire with as well. For your victory, I present you with the Fuchsia Gym's soul badge." As he said, the man presented her with the small metallic token; the details of which Chad was unable to see from his distance.

"Sorry kid, we got here a little too late I guess," Akuma told him.

The man and Kurishimi looked at the pair that came walking in through the door when they heard Akuma's voice. Kurishimi smiled when she saw Chad looking healthy as ever and hopped over to see them.

"Glad you woke up, Chad. It's nice to see a major battle like that and not have one of us hospitalized for once. Battle fatigue is probably the best side effect we've had in this group for a couple months."

"But I've only been with you for a few weeks haven't I?" Chad asked in confusion.

Kurishimi gave him a smile and a wink as she replied. "I never said our wounds were directly related to you joining us, did I?"

"Well no, I guess that was a pretty big stretch to make, wasn't it?" Chad admitted as he scratched his head in embarrassment. "So from what I heard you just won another badge which means we're in a Pokémon gym, right?"

"That's right. And I'm lucky enough to get the last gym badge from the gym leader too!"

"You did what now?" Chad asked in astonishment.

"Master Koga is preparing to leave his duties as gym leader in Fuchsia City," Akuma explained. "He is about to undergo final observation to become a member of the Elite Four at Indigo Plateau. Kurishimi was his last challenge as a gym leader."

"And a most skilled young lady she is too," Koga chimed in. "She defeated the junior members of this gym and began her gym challenge without resting, and even now her Pokémon are still sufficiently capable of further battling if need be. It was a fine retirement challenge, to be sure."

"So… does this mean I can't win a gym badge today?" Chad asked with heavy disappointment.

"I had heard that we might have had another challenger today from Akuma, but I had not expected you to appear so soon. I apologize for disheartening your spirit, but there is still a way for you to take the gym challenge if you desire. Akuma, if you could please escort him to the recovery and exchange room we will ready a suitable test for him while he prepares a Pokémon team to challenge us with."

Akuma nodded and brought Chad out of the room while Kurishimi stayed behind with Koga. Chad learned that all of his Pokémon had been brought to the recovery room when their group had been brought to Koga's mansion as well as Kurishimi's and Akuma's. His companions had already healed and switched out their Pokémon teams, so Chad was currently the only one among them who had no Pokémon to battle with. Koga Manor had a small medical wing that functioned well enough for a Pokémon Center, complete with an exchange computer.

This was Chad's first gym battle since leaving Cerulean and getting concentrated training, so he wanted to be sure to do things to the best of his ability. After retrieving his Pokémon from the nurse he picked up a pen and pad of paper then sat down at a computer with his Pokémon storage box open and displaying the names of those he didn't have with him. He wrote down the names of every Pokémon he had available and started considering which ones he would use with the exception of Gyarados. After the previous night his main fighter deserved a good rest.

"Akuma, is there anything you can tell me about Koga?"

"Yes, but he's not the gym leader anymore so I don't know what you hope to gain from learning about him specifically."

"Oh, right, I forgot. Well can you give me any information about this gym then?"

"I don't know who Koga has chosen to replace him, but the idea should be the same. This gym is filled with trainers who use the way of the ninja to train their Pokémon. Common tactics instructed by Koga are related to crippling the opponent before defeating the enemy. Expect status effects and quick moving enemies. Their attacks will either hit very hard or do very little damage while attacks come repeatedly to whittle your Pokémon down. It depends entirely on who your opponent will be."

"Let's see… all the current gym leaders in Kanto use different Pokémon types, don't they?"

"For the most part, yes."

"Darn, I was expecting him to specialize in grass types. Well let me think. The surroundings are pretty outdoorsy, there's a garden in the center of the plot, and I'm fighting a ninja clan. So the Pokémon type specialty here must be… bug types!"

As Chad started scratching out and circling names on his list of Pokémon Akuma smiled to himself from out of Chad's view. Chad went through the list quickly, sorting out what Pokémon he would bring with him until he had five Pokémon circled and only two left untouched on his list. He scratched his head with the blunt end of the pen thinking over which one he should take for a moment or two, then scratched out Electabuzz's name and started the Pokémon exchange system.

When his belt was fully loaded with three poké balls on each side he stood up and declared to himself, as well as Akuma, "Alright, I'm ready for my gym battle now."

Chad paced the room next to the gym arena doors nervously. If he'd been able to go straight in when he arrived there wouldn't have been much problem, but the wait while his challenge was being prepared was nerve wracking. Akuma kept telling him to calm down, and he did try, but he couldn't stay that way for long. Finally the doors opened and Kurishimi told them they were ready. Chad walked in by himself, though Akuma followed him in of course, and they saw five young women dressed in ninja robes and a long purple scarf covering their faces. Each had the same clothing, the same hair, and the same features. Chad believed that he was looking at a mirror illusion until he saw each one having a different blinking pattern. Koga, who was standing nearby, explained the rules of Chad's gym challenge.

"For your challenge at Fuchsia Gym you will battle my daughter Janine for the Soul Badge. However, to battle my daughter you must first pick her out from among these four imposters. If you choose incorrectly, you will battle the imposter in increasing stock battles until you come to the real Janine. Your first battle, regardless of who you choose, will be one-on-one. Your next battle will be two-on-two, and so on. If the gym leader is the last one chosen, you must face her in a five stock battle, regardless of your remaining Pokémon count. If you lose all of your Pokémon at any point before earning your badge you must restart your challenge from the beginning. If you wish to make any changes to the battles you must state your request before the battle begins and it is up to Janine herself to accept or decline your proposal. Do you fully understand the conditions of this challenge?"

Chad nodded stiffly. "Yes, sir."

With that, Koga took a seat on the sidelines without another word and allowed the challenge to continue without him.

Chad stepped forward hesitantly and looked carefully at each girl in front of him while at a respectable distance. All the disguises were perfect. He could see minute differences in how each trainer stood, but nothing gave away signs of which trainer might be of a higher class than the others. Two of the trainers were calm, though one seemed more rigid than the other. He thought another trainer seemed slightly more uncomfortable than the rest and filed away the information in his mind. When he met the eyes of another girl she averted her eyes just slightly. The fifth kept her eyes closed; perhaps in focus for battle.

When Chad couldn't make up his mind he turned his back on the group. "I have a request I wish to make about the upcoming battle to the real Janine," he declared. When there was no immediate reply he continued. "I want to choose two people for my first battle. Both trainers will fight me with one Pokémon at the same time in a double battle. I will use two Pokémon of my own. The following match, if there is one, will be a three stock battle and from then on the stock will increase normally. Both trainers will use one Pokémon each while I use only two at the same time. Both battles will fulfill the previous stock conditions in the same match. May I have your permission to continue?"

Kurishimi looked worried and whispered a question to their mentor. Akuma showed signs of amusement and whispered back to her in a reassuring tone. Chad glanced to the side at Koga who was looking at the group behind him. The old man shook his head slowly and looked back at Chad with studying eyes.

"I accept your proposal," Janine finally replied a moment later. Her words were clear and her voice betrayed a respectable upbringing as well as her composure. Chad knew he needed to make sure what happened in this battle counted for something. "Your first battle shall be a double battle against two trainers."

Chad smiled to himself and turned back to the group, already knowing who it was he wanted to face. "I chose you," he said with one finger pointed toward the girl who seemed uncomfortable earlier, "and you!" He redirected his finger toward the girl who had looked away from him earlier.

"Incorrect," both girls said as they vanished from his sight. The remaining three leapt off to the side opposite from Koga and took a knee. Chad turned to see the two clones pulling off their disguises on the opposite side of the battlefield as they spoke in unison. "Your first match will be against…"

"… Cindy!" declared a young girl.

"… and Barry!" added a… boy!

Chad was surprised at the second fighter's identity and didn't try to hide it. "My first gym battle is against a cross dresser?!" he said in surprise.

"Illusionary disguises are a superior ninja art no matter the humiliation!" the boy cried out in frustration.

"Control your emotions, Barry," Janine said from among the three. Chad couldn't pinpoint which of the three had spoken.

"The lady is right," Cindy added. "We have to fight together if we plan to stop him." She then addressed Chad directly. "You were brave to choose a double battle for your first gym challenge, but foolish to choose the two of us! We have been training together in this gym for many months so that the two of us could perfect our double battle techniques with each other. You will find it difficult to best the two of us in combat. It's time for battle!"

"Let's win this!" Barry agreed as the two threw their poké balls into the air.

Cindy's Pokémon appeared first. It was a tall blue Pokémon with blunted spikes running down its neck and back. Its ears were similar to those of a mouse and it stood erect with a thick tail for support allowing its strong arms to hold the enemy in a way that would allow a partner to attack the opponent.

Barry's Pokémon was so similar that Chad was sure they were a related species, yet it had a hint of separate familiarity to it. It was purple in color and while it stood at roughly the same height, it was definitely heavier and much more muscular. It had the same ears, spike arrangement, and tail as Cindy's Pokémon, but the horn on its forehead was much more threatening. The arms were designed the same way as well, but were much more likely to tear up enemies than hold them down so a partner could do the same.

Kurishimi started to ask Akuma a question, but he held up a hand and shook his head. Chad wished he had nodded because he felt suddenly ill prepared for a double battle against these partners which were definitely not bug types. Both looked like they could be fighting Pokémon, but Chad felt as though the purple one was a poison type. If Chad didn't know any better he might've guessed the blue one to be a dragon type, but it was likely that Gyarados was much stronger so that typing wasn't possible according to logic. If color was the basis it might have been a water type, but that was highly unlikely even though it seemed like it might be a good swimmer. Chad finally gave up trying to guess the enemy's type and assumed his opponents were most likely fighting Pokémon.

"Pidgeotto, Ivysaur, I choose you!" he announced as he threw each poké ball into the battlefield. His Pokémon made their appearance with a confident battle cry which his opponents quickly answered with their own guttural roars. Chad already had his attacks planned and tried to get in the first hit. "Pidgeotto, use quick attack on the right! Ivysaur, trip up the left with vine whip!"

As Pidgeotto sped toward the purple enemy Ivysaur's vines rushed out toward the blue counterpart. But his opponents were prepared for his Pokémon earlier than expected.

"Nidoking, mega punch!" Barry ordered.

"Nidoqueen, stop it with body slam!" Cindy instructed.

Cindy's Nidoqueen leapt up into the air, sailing over the vine whip and crashed back down to the ground, landing on Ivysaur's vines and pinning them to the ground. At the same time Barry's Nidoking took the full force of Pidgeotto's quick attack then smashed the bird into the air with a powerful punch. Ivysaur cringed in pain as its vines were crushed, but didn't stop attacking. Before Nidoqueen could rise to its feet Ivysaur had curled its vines back and wrapped Nidoqueen tightly up in confinement. Chad remembered the combination attack Ivysaur had used against Sudowoodo the day before and saw an excellent opportunity to use it again.

"Ivysaur, razor execution!" he proudly declared.

Ivysaur lifted Nidoqueen high into the air while she was tightly restrained with its vines and began to deliver a deadly assault with a razor leaf barrage. Nidoqueen was helpless to defend herself, but not without outside defense. Nidoking was already on his way to help his comrade with a punch pulled back, but it had already dismissed Pidgeotto in its mind. Quickly Chad called for a gust attack to keep Nidoking at bay which slowed the beast, but also pulled in some of the razor leaves that Ivysaur was attacking with, giving Nidoqueen the opportunity it needed.

Nidoqueen launched a flurry of poison sting needles at Ivysaur that pierced some of the leaves cleanly and continued on to assault Ivysaur. When Ivysaur further slowed its attack Nidoqueen fired a dangerous hyper beam that Ivysaur couldn't avoid. Chad called for his Pokémon to drop Nidoqueen and evade, but Ivysaur was frozen to the spot with fear as the energy blast quickly closed in. Chad's Pokémon took the full force from the explosion and dropped Nidoqueen to the ground. While that was going on Nidoking created a sphere of water in its hands and launched the water pulse attack in Pidgeotto's direction. The bird Pokémon increased the strength of its gust attack to slow the oncoming water blast, but to no avail. Pidgeotto was thrown back across the battlefield into the hyper beam explosion where it suffered the same damage Ivysaur was experiencing. Both of Chad's Pokémon dropped to the ground with a dull thud, but neither of them fainted yet. Chad caught Akuma whispering something to Kurishimi while she nodded in agreement and gave her own opinion.

"You're good Chad," Cindy told him, "and your Pokémon can take a hit better than we were expecting, but for their sake we have to end this battle quickly."

Chad clenched his hand into a fist. "Good, you keep fighting me with all you've got. I won't lose against you and your cross dressing boyfriend today!"

Cindy blushed hard and opened her mouth, but couldn't reply. Chad caught Kurishimi dropping her head into her hand and snorted a barely repressed laugh while Akuma had his eyes closed as he shook his head

"I'm not her boyfriend and I told you that I was using a ninja disguise! It's not cross dressing!" Barry was practically throwing a fit at this point. "Nidoking, attack with earth power!"

"Oh! Um, Nidoqueen, do the same thing!" Cindy ordered, but she was still flustered.

Both Nidos slammed their fists into the ground so that a single glowing fissure raced toward Chad's Pokémon. Chad was ready for their attack, but found it hard to relay his orders the way he wanted. "Ivysaur vine grab Pidgeotto to fly!" he managed to stammer out.

Pidgeotto started to fly into the air just as Ivysaur grabbed onto it with its vine whip attack. Together the pair flew above the enemy and avoided the double strength earth power attack. Then Chad got an excellent idea.

"Pidgeotto, keep them where they are with your twister attack then blind them with a combo sand attack!" As commanded, Pidgeotto whipped up a powerful gust that the pair were trapped inside and the sand immediately after blinded them as well. The wind was too powerful for them to escape from and even when they tried to escape they simply crashed into each other. "Now Ivysaur, use the wind to boost your razor leaf attack!" Ivysaur instantly launched a flurry of razor leaves through the gale and the added power of the speedy winds caused the sharp leaves to do immense damage to the royal duo. "Let's finish this. Ivysaur, drop down into the eye of the twister." Pidgeotto flew above the swirling winds allowing Ivysaur to drop safely in the middle of the deadly gale. "Pidgeotto, propel Ivysaur down and cut off the twister with a blast of gust." With two strong flaps of its wings Pidgeotto launched Ivysaur down to the ground where it landed safely and eliminated the dangerous twister at the same time. Unable to see the events for themselves due to the blinding sand effects, the Nido pair was thrown off balance when the winds were suddenly cut. "Ivysaur, trip them up with your vine whip now." Ivysaur extended its vines and spun around sharply, sweeping its enemy's feet out from under them. Already off balance the duo were at risk of falling onto the razor leaves that had littered the ground since the winds had ceased, but Chad wasn't finished assaulting the pair yet. "Use your vines to slam them to the ground hard and Pidgeotto help out with your wing attack!" Pidgeotto dove toward the falling pair and stopped hard between them. She extended her wings and spun quickly, slapping each enemy in the face to guarantee the hazardous fall. As they neared the ground Ivysaur raised its vines into the air and slammed each one into the enemy's torso, finally bringing them to the ground with a thunderous crash. Razor leaves on the ground tore into their backs, ensuring that the royal pair would not rise again.

"Double knockout in favor of Ivysaur and Pidgeotto," Koga announced. "The victor is Chad."

Chad pumped his fist into the air in victory when Koga confirmed the win on his side. It was his first victory in a gym battle, even if it was against a junior trainer. He wasn't done with his gym challenge yet, but he was very proud of his Pokémon and let them know it as soon as they returned to his side.

"Oh, and Barry," Chad called out while he returned his Pokémon to their poké balls, "I knew if I called you a cross dresser enough times you'd mess up during the battle. Now that we're done, I think you had a really good disguise. Sure fooled me."

"I don't think it would be too hard to fool yo-EEEE!" Barry yelped as Cindy jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "I mean, thanks Chad. I heard this was your first gym battle, and I think you did a great job. Thanks for the match." Barry and Cindy bowed to Chad respectively then took a seat on Koga's side of the room next to each other.

Chad looked over at the remaining three Janine girls who had already lined up in front of him for his next decision, but he already knew who the real one was now. He pointed at the girl who had remained calm and relaxed since he had entered and said, "Janine, it's time for our battle. I'm ready now."

The girl Chad pointed to was startled, but she bowed her head and told the other two, "Leave us now," in Janine's voice. The two clones removed their disguises, both females this time Chad noticed, and walked over to sit with Cindy and Barry. The real Janine pulled down the scarf around her neck so her face was fully revealed. Chad assumed she took after her mother because he couldn't see any of Koga in her. She had a proud face and strong eyes as well. "How did you know for a fact that I was Janine?"

"I saw you watching my battle more closely than the other two trainers. You were also holding yourself differently than they were. When I put everything together it was easy to know which one was the real you."

"And yet I spoke before your first battle. I assume you posed the question to get me to speak, but why did you make such an attempt?"

"I didn't know for sure what type this gym specialized in yet. I wanted to have a double battle to figure out how to battle the type specialization too, but I still don't know what to expect. I haven't seen those Pokémon before to be honest."

"Then I suppose it would be fair to tell you in advance. This gym specializes in poison types, but you have yet to see what poison types are capable of. Sleep, poison, confusion, paralysis, all of these and more are tactics used by us, the ninjas and our Pokémon. Chad, your first gym battle, and mine as the gym leader, begins now!"


	49. Soul Badge

The three-on-three battle between Chad and Janine got off to a fast start. Chad's first Pokémon was Raticate while Janine's was a four winged purple bat with small features. Chad predicted it would be a very fast Pokémon in battle while its attacks would be based on the hit and run tactics. He tried to get in the first strike with Raticate's quick attack, but Janine's Pokémon was indeed much faster than his and easily evaded.

Janine took control of the situation quickly by making use of a supersonic attack. Upon her command Chad found that her Pokémon was named Crobat and he correctly guessed that it was related to that pesky Golbat line. Raticate was quick to avoid the supersonic waves and tackled Crobat in midair. Chad found that with Crobat's small body it couldn't take hits very well so he used Raticate's tail whip to lower its defenses. Things seemed to be going in his favor, but Janine didn't seem bothered at all. After putting distance between the two Pokémon Janine ordered Crobat to use double team. Raticate was quickly surrounded by copies of Crobat, but Chad was quick to react. Raticate spread its own double team copies around the floor and each Pokémon were equal again. Raticate was the first to attack next, using quick attacks to sweep through each Crobat. All the Crobat copies tried to use wing attack in case the real Raticate found the real Crobat. Some attacks were too delayed, but no impact was ever made.

Finally Janine got fed up with the pointless fighting and commanded her Crobat to use haze. One of the Crobat in the center of the room began to spin around slowly while spraying a cold mist over the battlefield. As the mist brushed over the copies both friend and foe vanished until only the real fighters were left. The spray exposed the real Crobat however, leaving it open to attack. As the remaining mist settled over the final copies, Raticate scored a direct hit on Crobat with a perfect hyper fang attack. Crobat knocked Raticate away with a wing attack, but the damage was already done. Chad's Pokémon hissed at the airborne enemy after landing while Crobat climbed higher into the air.

Chad was expecting Crobat to dive bomb them with a wing attack, but instead it fired a supersonic at Raticate. Chad had been waiting for this opportunity however. He commanded Raticate to use mimic so Raticate countered by releasing its own supersonic attack. Both sound waves negated each other before hitting their intended targets, making Janine's first distance strategy ineffective. The young ninja had more than just one trick planned however. She ordered Crobat to use toxic to wear Raticate down. Crobat spit a horrible acid at Raticate, but Chad countered that attack as well with Raticate's double team again and the toxic goo splashed harmlessly onto the floor. Janine expectedly countered with haze again, making sure to keep Crobat high in the air as it did so.

Unfortunately for her, Raticate was ready this time. Chad called for a supersonic attack while Crobat was immobile as it spread the mist onto the battlefield below. Crobat was too busy with its own attack to have time to evade. The sonic waves washed over Crobat in full, causing a successful confusion. Janine instructed Crobat to make no moves and stay high in the air where it was safe until the confusion wore off. Crobat understood her commands, but its confused status caused it to steadily hover down instead until Raticate was able to leap through the air and catch it in another hyper fang attack. Crobat could not fight back as Raticate crushed it in its massive jaws and eventually succumbed to the powerful attack. Before it fainted however, Crobat managed to poison Raticate with a toxic attack at the last minute.

Chad realized it would be safer for his Pokémon to be in its pokéball, but it wouldn't be healthy enough to come back into the fight later. He decided it would be more prudent to scout out which type of Pokémon he should best counter Janine's choice with. He'd have to apologize to Raticate later of course.

Janine waited for a moment to see if Chad would recall his Pokémon, but when he didn't she sent out her next choice. This Pokémon was very much a bug type as Chad had previously predicted; so much so that he wasn't sure it was a poison type at all. The body was shaped like a cicada with shining red eyes yet only two gray legs instead of the assumed six one might expect. When both veined white wings came together they were likely larger than the body in 2D dimensions, but Chad could only assume that to be true as the wings were moving so fast he almost thought they didn't exist when the Pokémon first appeared. He thought he heard Kurishimi whisper the words 'uh oh' when it appeared. He hoped not.

"Ninjask, swords dance," Janine ordered.

The little bug type swung it arms in cutting gestures as it moved in a pattern through the air. Or it might have been more accurate to say that it teleported. Chad couldn't tell how fast it was actually moving. He tried to get in one hit with Raticate's quick attack, but Raticate passed through the opponent as if it was incorporeal.

"Are you seriously using a bug and ghost type?! What happened to your poison specialties?" Chad exclaimed.

"We of the Koga clan do not devote ourselves solely to the restrictions of one type of Pokémon. We do, however, find that the poison types are frequently more suited to those of the ninja than others. Ninjask is not a ghost type. It is a Pokémon which has incomparable speed. Quite simply, Ninjask is so fast that it can dodge any physical attack used against it. Raticate missed. That is all."

Chad's shoulders slumped in despair and disbelief. Raticate couldn't match that kind of speed and it was still taking constant increasing damage from the toxic attack. There wasn't any need for Ninjask to use a swords dance to sharpen its attack power either. Janine could have her Pokémon do whatever it wanted even if Raticate was healthy and she would win in time.

"Now, Ninjask, use double team."

"Oh give me a break here!" Chad exclaimed as three more Ninjask appeared instantly. "As if it wasn't hard enough to hit you already!"

"Did you believe that just because it was your first battle against a gym leader that I would give you a handicap?" Janine replied coolly. "This is also my first battle as a gym leader and I will not shame my father's choice in giving me that position by losing my first battle to a newcomer. Like a true ninja worthy to inherit the title of the Koga clan, I will show no mercy to my enemies in battle! Ninjask, separate your copies and cut into Raticate with a slash attack!"

As she had instructed, four Ninjask appeared in each of Raticate's compass directions and slashed through their opponent before Chad realized what had happened. Raticate fell to the floor in pain as Chad's mind raced for any opportunity to counter. The echoing buzz of Ninjask's wings in the room was making it harder for him to think though. Wait, the echoing of Ninjask's wings? Chad did have a chance after all!

"Put Raticate out of its misery Ninjask. Another slash attack to finish the job."

Before Janine had finished speaking Chad quickly gave a suicide order. "Raticate, fire the strongest supersonic attack you can gather at the floor now!"

Kurishimi stood up to protest, but her voice was drowned by the resonating supersonic through the foundations of the empty wooden room. The acoustics amplified the supersonic attack's effects and range as Ninjask cut through the source in a knockout attack and became confused instantly. In its confusion Ninjask kept going and crashed into the wall next to a supersonic-stunned Koga. The high speed crash did enough damage to Ninjask to dissipate the double team copies as well. Everyone in the room was dizzy from the echoing of the supersonic waves through their bodies as well as their ears. Two of Janine's copycats fell over while Barry ran out of the room as nausea took over.

Chad recalled his Pokémon quickly and tried to think past his disorientation for what Pokémon would be best to battle a fast moving Pokémon such as Ninjask. Unfortunately his judgment was too crippled for him to formulate a strategy so he instead stuck with the good old-fashioned type advantage strategy and sent out Rapidash.

While Ninjask was bouncing around the room Chad told his Pokémon to use stomp when it came close enough. Fortunately Ninjask was moving slowly enough that Rapidash managed to crush it underhoof with its powerful legs. Ninjask struggled in desperation to get free while Rapidash blasted it point-blank with a flurry of embers. Finally Ninjask managed to break away and zipped through Rapidash's legs to safety. Chad assumed that the confusion had worn off now too since most everyone in the room was back to normal with the exception of Cindy who was on her belly and poking the floor while reciting limericks to an imaginary emu named Alfonso.

"Ninjask, use fury swipes to whittle down Rapidash's health. Stay close, but keep moving to evade any attack it might use against you."

Chad smirked when he heard Janine's instructions. It seemed she was still affected by the supersonic attack too and didn't know it. When Ninjask came close to Rapidash and began to cut at its body wherever an opening presented itself, he was ready. "Rapidash, stay in one place and prepare a flame wheel." Rapidash was quickly surrounded by a swirling inferno and since the attack enveloped its whole body, Ninjask had nowhere to retreat to without running through the flames. Chad knew Janine would eventually instruct her Pokémon to do just that though and he wouldn't give her the chance. "Now Rapidash, aim your fire spin at the ground and envelope the two of you in the vortex!" Rapidash did as instructed and the flames changed their direction from a horizontal disc around his body to a vertical pillar of swirling fire. Rapidash was unhurt by the flames, but Ninjask couldn't escape the vortex if it wanted to; such was the specialty of this particular attack. Chad kept an eye on the flames as he waited for them to die off. When he could see the two Pokémon inside the inferno again he gave Rapidash one more instruction to finish off the panicking bug. "Now use another stomp to get that Ninjask out of there!" With a powerful back kick Ninjask was launched out through the now dying flames and crashed into the wall behind Chad with a crunch. From the way Ninjask's crippled and scorched body fell to the ground there was no question it could not continue battling.

Chad rushed over to his fallen enemy and scooped it up in his arms gently. He brought it back to Janine who placed it safely in its poké ball where it could rest. The new gym leader thanked him for being merciful in victory and started considering her counter as Chad returned to the challenger's side. It seemed Chad's assumption that the gym specialized in bug types worked in his favor as she seemed to have a hard time deciding which Pokémon she could best counter Rapidash and end the battle with. Twice she looked over at her father for support, but Koga gave her no support of any kind.

Chad eventually grew impatient and decided to pressure her a little. "You know, if there's nothing the Koga clan can successfully counter with you could always forfeit the match and give me the badge. Just saying…"

He was right, that did it. Janine's eyes flashed back to battle and she grabbed a poké ball with sudden determination to finish him. Chad smiled at the renewed excitement she displayed and prepared himself to study her next Pokémon in an instant.

It was a large purple and white moth with black eyes and equally large wings. As they flapped he could see various spores drift off the wings which gave her Pokémon a deadly beauty as the light caught the spores and made them shine. It was definitely another bug type and based on the dangerous cloud that surrounded its body it was likely a poison Pokémon as well. Best of both worlds, he thought.

Janine wasted none of her renewed battle vigor. "Venomoth, hit Rapidash with psybeam!"

Venomoth fired a powerful psychic beam at Chad's Pokémon that he wasn't prepared to evade. Rapidash cringed at the strong blast as Chad wondered whether he'd mistaken his enemy's typing to include being part psychic as well. He ordered Rapidash to counter with fire spin, but Venomoth easily evaded and released a cloud of stun spores in Rapidash's direction. Chad countered with Rapidash's flame wheel charge which struck home. Venomoth was badly hurt by the power behind Rapidash's attack, but still had a lot of fight left in it. As the flame wheel subsided, Venomoth fired another psybeam which cut through the lingering flames and stunned Rapidash again. While Rapidash was unprepared Venomoth released a sleep powder that took effect immediately. As Rapidash slept it was assaulted by relentless psybeams that sapped its strength until there was nothing left.

Chad recalled his fire Pokémon and pondered what his last fighter should be. Now he wished he'd taken Electabuzz after all, or even Cubone for that matter. His last two Pokémon were only good in close quarters and he couldn't exchange them for a better fighter in the middle of a battle. He was sure he'd lost this fight, but he wouldn't give up. Chad selected the faster battler between the two. Kurishimi seemed to have resigned hope as well when she saw Mankey appear on the field. Chad looked to see what Akuma's inevitably dejected reaction would be and found their eyes locking with each other.

Suddenly Chad felt a rush of nostalgia when he saw his teacher's face. It wasn't a look of hopelessness as he'd expected, but one of sureness and determination as if Akuma was the one fighting in Chad's place with his Pokémon. Then he realized the familiarity of that feeling.

The first time Chad and Akuma had met the veteran trainer had used his own inexperienced Pokémon to battle a formidable opponent and win three victories with minimal effort. He remembered when Akuma had used a little Nidoran to combat an enraged Mankey and the man was showing the same look of confidence he did right now. Along with the memories he realized how applicable the first lesson he'd been taught by Akuma was in this case as well.

"_You have learned that all Pokémon, no matter their experience, have potential. You only need to learn how to draw it out. And you have learned that under any circumstances you must never at any risk underestimate your opponent's battling skills or act solely on impulse. A trainer may actually use weaker Pokémon to lower your guard in order to take you by surprise."_

Chad had begun to fall back into the state of mind he'd tried to get away from so long ago. He was selling his Pokémon short against a much stronger enemy. On the other hand, he'd provoked Janine by nudging her pride and pushing her choices in the battle. He'd forced her to act on impulse. What he had to tell his mind was that he was using what might be considered a weaker Pokémon to lower her defenses. If she bought it too, he could lull her into a sense of false security. He needed to pull off a surprise victory just like he'd seen back then. He had been trained by the person he admired most and this battle was to show what he had learned from that training.

Chad nodded to Akuma when he understood what his teacher was thinking and mouthed a silent 'thank you'. He turned back to Janine who was indeed showing signs of assured victory, but only for a moment. When she saw the reignited fire in Chad's eyes she recoiled in surprise before she realized it.

"I'm winning this fight," Chad declared confidently.

"Y-You will not! Venomoth, cripple Mankey with stun spores!"

"Mankey, low kick!"

As Venomoth wafted the dangerous pollen toward its enemy Mankey dove under the cloud with foot outstretched and slid not only under the spores, but past Venomoth as well. Before Venomoth could turn Chad struck again.

"Mankey, one scratch attack now!"

Mankey vaulted back toward its enemy in the air and tore its claws into Venomoth's side. The attack was quick enough that the residual dust cloud from Venomoth's wings couldn't affect Mankey in time.

"Venomoth, use a psybeam quickly!"

"To the back Mankey, and use fury swipes!"

Venomoth's attacks were just a fraction of a second too late as Mankey went under Venomoth again and began to tear into its back with its claws repeatedly while Janine started to panic.

"Venomoth, envelop your body in sleep powder now!"

_Got you!_ Chad thought to himself. "Hold your ground Mankey, and use mega punch!"

Mankey stood in the middle of the crippling sleep powder with Venomoth and smashed its fist into the middle of Venomoth's body. Venomoth was ejected from the cloud of sleep powder so hard that most of the dust from its wings fell away when the blow hit.

"The cloud's effects will slow Mankey down, Venomoth. Take it down quickly with psybeam!"

"Mankey, jump!" Chad's Pokémon leaped through the air just as quick as ever, leaving the psybeam to splash harmlessly on the ground. "Now bring it home with mega kick!"

Mankey plummeted toward Venomoth with one leg partially outstretched. Just before the attack connected it stretched its leg out in full and smashed a foot violently into Venomoth's body. Janine's poor bug Pokémon struck the ground hard, but Chad wasn't done yet.

"Finish it off with karate chop!"

Mankey leaped over and cut the side of its hand into Venomoth's face with a critical hit. Venomoth slumped to the ground, unable to continue battling, while Janine stared in shock.

"But… it was in the sleep powder… that's impossible! I should have won!"

"Not quite so much actually," Chad explained as he patted Mankey's head. "Mankey's ability is vital spirit. It keeps it from being put to sleep during battle so sleep powder, hypnosis, and other such moves are useless against it."

Janine held her chin in her hand as she processed what Chad told her. "I see, that's very interesting. I've never heard of an ability such as that before. With that ability and Mankey's agility I can see how it's an excellent way to counter the standard tactics of ninja Pokémon. Most fascinating…"

Chad tapped his finger against his hip while he let Janine think for a moment before interrupting her thoughts. "So… do I get a gym badge, or…?"

Janine snapped back to reality and blushed lightly with embarrassment as she fumbled through the folds in her garb. "Oh, yes, I'm so sorry I forgot. Here it is. For your victory, Chad, you've earned the soul badge!" She held out a small, purple, metallic heart-shaped gem to him in the center of her palm.

Chad picked the symbol out of her hand so he could study it between his fingers. He registered different expressions on his face as the shock of what this little stone really meant hit him all at once. Disbelief, realization, joy, excitement, victory, and a rush of euphoria all went through him at the same time, causing him to leap into the air.

"I won my first gym badge!" he exclaimed as Mankey danced in the air with him.

"Were you like that when you won your first badge too?" Kurishimi asked quietly while Chad continued his celebration.

Akuma nodded as he watched his student leap around the room. "More than you would think I might have been," he admitted. He opened up a small pocket on his vest at chest level and pulled out a faded heart-shaped stone of his own. "Koga was the first gym leader I ever beat too. When his Weezing fell to Gastly I was sure I was dreaming about victory again so much that the realization didn't sink in until two days later. I woke up my Growlithe when I cheered that morning too. Weren't you the same when you got Erika's Rainbow badge?"

"Not really since I'm sure she was taking it easy on her friend and didn't think she had to take me seriously. The Pewter Gym badge on the other hand was much more satisfying."

"I don't recall you cheering quite as much that day."

Kurishimi playfully dug her elbow into Akuma's ribs. "Since I knew you would have given me a speech about getting cocky if I were to have done so I chose to wait until we were separated for a little while."

Akuma pushed her arm away when she found a nerve. "I owe you a lecture later in that case."


End file.
